|
 With
new program in Columbus, Schweitzer
Fellowship comes
to Ohio University
Unique, interdisciplinary
program will address health disparities
in Columbus and Athens by
developing
Leaders in Services
The Ohio University Heritage College of
Osteopathic Medicine joins the
Ohio
State University College of Medicine as
academic partners and sponsors in the
newest site for the Albert Schweitzer
Fellowship, the 12th such
program in the nation.
Funding from Anthem Blue Cross and the
Blue Shield Foundation helped make
possible the program’s expansion to
Columbus and Athens.
“We’re proud to be partners in this
prestigious program. It’s a great fit
for us,” said Jack Brose, D.O., dean of
OU-HCOM. “Service to the region is a
large part of our mission, and we’ve
long provided programs that meet
unfulfilled health care needs in
Southeast Ohio. The Schweitzer
Fellowship provides an important avenue
for students with a passion for serving
the underserved to build their
leadership experience in health-focused
community service.”
“We provide incredible opportunities for
our medical students and other Ohio
University students to serve our
community – it’s part of our mission as
the Area Health Education Center,” said
Trace. “This is exciting because this is
only the second Schweitzer site in the
Midwest and only the 12th in
the country,” said Kathy Trace, director
of OU-HCOM’s Area Health Education Center
and Community Health Programs.
The Albert Schweitzer Foundation (ASF)
is a national nonprofit organization
whose mission is to address health
disparities by developing what they term
“Leaders in Service.” According to
their web site, these are “individuals
who are dedicated and skilled in meeting
the health needs of underserved
communities, and whose examples
influences and inspires others.”
Every year, ASF selects and supports
approximately 200 new fellows from the
nation’s top professional schools. Each
fellow partners with a local
organization to create and carry out a
yearlong 200-hour service project that
addresses an unmet health-related need
in the area that program serves. These
fellows deliver more than 40,000 hours
of service annually.
In October, the Columbus site will begin
recruiting its first class of an
estimated 12 fellows. OU-HCOM medical
students and graduate students in
nursing, psychology and social work are
eligible to apply for the fellowships,
as are Ohio State students in dentistry,
medicine, nursing, optometry, pharmacy,
social work and veterinary medicine.
Applications and program information
will be available online at
www.schweitzerfellowship.org/columbus.
Selection will occur in the winter, and
the newest fellows will begin in spring
2011.
Terry Bahn, Columbus Schweitzer fellows
program director and the director of
outreach and engagement for the OSU
College of Medicine, said that he will
conduct information sessions in October
for students interested in learning more
and applying for the fellowship.
“Fellows must partner with
community-based organizations to
identify an unmet health need, design a
sustainable service project with an
enduring impact, and bring the program
from idea to implementation,” Bahn said.
“Those selected for the fellowships will
conduct their projects while continuing
with their academic programs, thus
learning to integrate service into their
everyday lives,” Bahn said.
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Contact:
Karoline Lane, director of
communication, (740) 593-2261,
lanek@ohio.edu. |
