Four Jefferson Students Awarded Albert Schweitzer Fellowships
Four
Thomas Jefferson University students have recently been awarded Albert
Schweitzer Fellowships, allowing each of them to dedicate more than 200
hours of community service to enhance access to adequate health
services for low-income communities where the need is greatest. Three
students – Carrie Zaslow, Elizabeth Daly, and Cameron Bass – from
Jefferson Medical College, along with Megan Riley, a physical therapy
student from Jefferson College of Health Professions, are committed to
serve with Project HOME and the Ridge Avenue Shelter in Philadelphia,
to develop various projects to meet the medical needs of the
community. The four Jefferson students are among 12 other 2008-2009
Schweitzer Fellows who have been awarded this honor, and were chosen
through a competitive selection process from the area’s top health and
human service universities and colleges.
Carrie Zaslow, Medical Student, Los Angeles, California
Carrie’s
project will offer "mini-courses," which include reading and
understanding nutrition labels, and how to be smart shoppers in
collaboration with community agencies in underserved areas of
Philadelphia. Carrie’s mini-courses will be a hybrid of interactive
lectures and discussions, which provide take-home educational materials
and focuses on practical applications of nutrition.
“I was thrilled when I learned that I had been selected as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow,” said Zaslow. “I am so excited to
build my project from the ground up and turn it into reality for the people who need it most.”
Cameron Bass, Medical Student, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Daly, Medical Student, Yardley, Pennsylvania
Cameron
and Elizabeth will work as partners on a project based at St.
Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a clinic operated by Project HOME in North
Philadelphia. Elizabeth and Cameron will focus on patients who have
difficulty managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes and
hypertension, because of economic, social, and educational barriers to
healthcare.
“With
this program, our aim is to improve the quality of life for these
patients by helping them understand their diagnosis and learning how to
manage it better,” said Bass. “Both Cameron and I are sure this
experience will enhance our medical training and will help us grow as
compassionate caregivers,” adds Daly.
Megan Riley, Physical Therapy Student, Shavertown, PennsylvaniaMegan’s
project is to start a diabetes intervention program called “Taking
Charge of Your Sugar” at the Ridge Avenue Shelter, a local shelter for
homeless men. The program is a revolving 10-week program that combines
physical activity, health education, and nutritional facts for diabetic
populations.
“Working
with this population will be challenging because, for the most part,
the population at the shelter is always fluctuating,” said Riley.
“This project will help me explore and challenge my perception of the
homeless and allow me to grow as a professional caregiver.”
The
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is a national nonprofit organization,
which develops Leaders in Health Service to Underserved Communities. By
participating in a unique, entrepreneurial, cross-disciplinary model of
education and mentored practical experience, graduate students in the
health professions provide direct service to those most in need and
develop a lifelong commitment to service in the spirit of Dr. Albert
Schweitzer. Albert Schweitzer, M.D. (1875-1965), was a German
theologian, musician, philosopher and physician, whose underlying
philosophy of Reverence for Life – an elementary and universal principle of ethics – is the founding principle of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
Since
1991, the accomplishments of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF)
include providing over 311,000 hours of service by working with more
than 400 community-based agencies; and establishing 11 local programs
in: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Greater Philadelphia, Houston, Los
Angeles, New Hampshire/Vermont, North Carolina, New Orleans,
Pittsburgh, San Francisco/Oakland.
Once
Fellows have completed their year of service, they join a network of
1,585 Schweitzer “Fellows for Life,” across the United States and
abroad. Virtually all continue their commitment to lives of service in
many cities and towns around the country and around the world. Because
the work of the Fellows is donated without charge to the communities
served, each fellow’s project is supported entirely by philanthropic
dollars through universities, corporations, foundations, and individual
donors.
For more information on the Great Philadelphia Schweitzer Fellowship Program, visit the website at http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org or please contact Ms. Nicole M. Cobb at 215-955-9995, nicole.cobb@jefferson.edu.
Media Only Contact:
Ed Federico
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 8/4/2008