September recipients:
- Elizabeth M. Cox, MD, physician with University Health Service and assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics in the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (URSMD), Jodi Cook, East High School teacher and lead teacher of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Pathway, Theresa Green, PhD, MBA, associate professor of Public Health Sciences at the URSMD
"Continued Support of Lunch and Learn Programming at East High School, and Support HOSA After-School Club"
The overall goals of this project is to support two initiatives at East High School, including the Lunch and Learn program and HOSA after-school club. Both provide students interested in pursuing health care careers with hands-on experiences and invaluable mentoring by current health care professionals.
The Lunch and Learn program, which began in the fall of 2022, allows scholars in the Medical Laboratory and Health Sciences Pathway at East High School to learn from community members, including members of the University of Rochester community, about health careers. This Lunch and Learn program had a very successful first year, with more than 20 participants.
HOSA is a global, student-run organization that exclusively serves secondary and post-secondary/collegiate students in pursuit of a career in the health professions. The Club was established at East High in 2021. Last year, five East High School students participated in a state conference in Syracuse, NY. Each student participated in a competition – which ranged from CPR/ basic life support skills, to career exploration and a supporting presentation to a panel of judges. This experience allowed students to practice and prepare a skill or set of skills, with support from University of Rochester medical students, over several weeks leading up to the conference.
Follow up: “The Mini-Grant Program was so very important for the success of the Lunch and Learn program and the HOSA after school program this past spring at East High School,” shared Dr. Cox. “The funds used for the Lunch and Learn program, allowed the team to provide scholars with a special monthly meal, as they listened to various presentations. Having funds to purchase appreciation gifts for the scholars who participated was greatly appreciated by all. Many of the scholars are proudly displaying their UR key tags on their backpacks!”
- Amanda Lai, arts and communications specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center's (URMC) Department of Psychiatry, URMC's Department of Psychiatry's Strong Recovery Services and Bridge Art Gallery and Creative Wellness Opportunities
"Promoting Mental Health and Substance Use Recovery Through Art"
The goal of this project is to create a visual art workshop series and community art gallery at the URMC Strong Recovery clinic, located at 2613 West Henrietta Rd. Through this grant, the waiting area will be transformed into a new art space, bringing “hope and healing throughout the waiting room area and enhancing the physical environment by integrating it with artwork that is beautiful, calm, and positive.”
Funding will go towards the purchase and installation of frames at the clinic, which will rotate artwork annually. The grant will also fund art supplies for art workshops as well as a gallery reception aimed at introducing community members to addressing the stigma associated with substance use disorders.
July recipients:
- Celia McIntosh, DNP, RN, president of the Rochester Black Nurses Association; Andrew Porter, BSN, associate director of Nursing at Monroe Community Hospital; Natalie Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN, assistant professor at the University of Rochester School of Nursing
"Strengthening a Mentorship Program for an Entry Level Pre-Licensure Nursing and Allied Health Staff at a Community Hospital"
The overall goals of this two prong-partnership (University of Rochester School of Nursing - Rochester Black Nurses Association and Rochester Black Nurses Association - Monroe Community Hospital) includes the standardization of a nurse-led mentorship program between the University of Rochester School of Nursing and Rochester Black Nurses Association and other health organizations (i.e. MCH). It is anticipated that Rochester Black Nurses Association members will strengthen their research-related (monitoring and evaluation skills) capacity. Such skills will specifically assist Rochester Black Nurses Association members to standardize program development for sustainability, as well as skills in community engagement research, and the ability to educate communities about research and health.
- Jahaira Capellan, PhD, MS, RN, postdoctoral fellow, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences TL1, University of Rochester Clinical & Translational Science Institute, School of Nursing; Ibero-American Action League, Inc.
"Puerto Rican Parent-child Feeding Interactions: Relationship to Child’s Dietary Intake"
The objective of the project is to build upon a study assessing parent-child feeding interactions in Spanish-Speaking Puerto Rican parent-child dyads and how these interactions are related to the weight status of their 2-5-year-old children. The project will provide the opportunity to collect children’s dietary data via the gold standard of 24-hour dietary recalls. The data will be used to assess the diet and nutrient intake of Puerto Rican children and evaluate its relationship with child’s body weight and parent’s level of acculturation, parenting style, and feeding styles and practices. The knowledge gained from this project will provide a starting point for the creation and evaluation of culturally relevant interventions, if needed, to reduce and/or limit unhealthy dietary intake and subsequent obesity and health conditions in Puerto Rican children.
January recipients: Meredith Kells, assistant professor, University of Rochester School of Nursing; Maggie Quinn, transformational life coach, Western New York Comprehensive Care Center for Eating Disorders (WNYCCCED); Trista Redding, social worker, WNYCCCED; Mary Tantillo, professor of clinical nursing, University of Rochester School of Nursing, director, WNYCCCED, founder, The Healing Connection.
"The PREP (People in Recovery Eating Preparation) Program: Supporting Individuals in Recovery from an Eating Disorder in Success through Hands-On Meal Preparation"
Services such as the program provided by this grant could add an additional key step in the path to recovery for many, and may prevent future relapse that would cause psychologic suffering and further medical care. The objectives of this program are to: 1) Identify individual barriers to meal preparation and mealtime that are impacting individuals in recovery from an eating disorder, 2) In collaboration with the individual in recovery, develop an actionable plan to address these barriers (e.g. obtaining tools needed for meal preparation at home, identifying affordable food options or charitable food donation centers, anxiety reduction techniques at mealtimes), 3) Enhance skills in meal planning and preparation through supporting participants in hands-on activities of (a) identifying a recipe they’d like to make (b) grocery shopping for said recipe (c) preparing recipe in a shared kitchen space and 4) Empower individuals in recovery from an eating disorder through the knowledge that they are able to engage in the meal preparation process through completion of the hands-on activities.