2024 has been a great year for Erie Niagara AHEC! We were able to continue our meaningful work, expand on our programming, and welcomed four new staff members! Take a look at some of the milestones we achieved this past year:
January – March
Student Health Internship Program
Erie Niagara AHEC was awarded the Reimagine: I am the Change! grant through the Office of Mental Health, Western Field Office, running from November 30 through March 15. As part of this initiative, the Student Health Internship Program (SHIP) matches students with college mentors in mental health and healthcare fields to help them pursue careers and contribute to community wellness. This year, 17 students and 15 mentors participated in workshops, presentations, and seminars led by mental health professionals in the Buffalo area. Mentors build meaningful relationships with youth interested in mental health careers, offering guidance and support to help them succeed in the field.
AHEC Scholars Annual Interprofessional Case Study Competition
Erie Niagara AHEC collaborated with WNY Rural AHEC for this year’s Case Study Competition. This competition allows Scholars to exercise their interprofessional collaboration skills, learn more about other health professions, and strategize patient-centered care. Five groups worked together to create a patient care plan for an individual with Huntington’s Disease. Their presentations were judged by former Erie Niagara AHEC Executive Director, Danise Wilson, University at Buffalo’s Assistant Dean and Director of Graduate Public Health Programs, Dr. Kim Krytus, and D’Youville University’s Dean of the School of Health Professions, Dr. Megan Whelan. The top three groups received prizes, and the first-place group presented their presentation at the virtual luncheon. The Scholars enjoyed learning more about the importance of cross-disciplinary partnerships and the roles different health professions play in patient care.
April – June
Student-Athletes With Academic Goals
Erie Niagara AHEC launched an 8-week SWAG pilot program at Niagara Falls High School, where 26 junior and senior student-athletes learned about sports medicine, time management, nutrition, CPR, opioid prevention, mental health, and healthy relationships. Students engaged in hands-on activities to enhance their health and wellness awareness. The program concluded with a graduation ceremony on May 30, sponsored by the NYS Statewide Office, where students received personalized SWAG sweatshirts, portfolios, and backpacks.
Black Maternal Health Week
The Birth Equity Project celebrated Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) from April 11 – 17 through a series of informational social media posts and a keynote address. This year’s theme was “Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!” and we highlighted health and wellness, community resources, doulas, and maternal mental health. Racquel Jones, LCSW; Sherrell McLean, LMSW, PMH-C, CLC; and Julie Rosinski, LCSW-R, PMH-C, discussed prenatal and postnatal mental health conditions, advocacy initiatives, barriers to care, stigmas, mental health resources, and coping skills in the Maternal Mental Health Keynote.
Opioid Prevention Education Project Spring Speaker Series
The Opioid Prevention Education Project (OPEP) is a program designed to spread awareness of the opioid epidemic as well as provide harm reduction information and resources to the community. Erie Niagara AHEC supports community health, safety, and health literacy through tabling, community engagement events, and informative presentations for high school and college students. This quarter, we commenced the spring OPEP speaker series in collaboration with the MATTERS Network. They focused on the treatment referral process, reframing the language around substance use disorders, medication-assisted treatment, diverse populations affected by substance use disorders, and how to effectively use Naloxone (Narcan). This series informed over 100 community members of valuable harm reduction strategies and connected them to free resources in the community.
AHEC Scholars Cohort 5 Graduation
Thirteen students from Cohort 5 of the AHEC Scholars program celebrated their graduation from their academic programs and Scholars at the End-of-Year Celebration. Graduating scholars were celebrated with signed cards from the Erie Niagara AHEC staff and shared their “yearbook quotes” on social media. Scholars in attendance exercised their collaboration skills with team-building activities and reflected on their experiences from the program.
SEPA Capstone Showcase
Students from high schools around Erie and Niagara Counties came together to present their metagenomics research at UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Students work with UB throughout the school year to collect, isolate, and analyze bacteria in waterways around Western New York. They were able to highlight and share this process with stakeholders at the Capstone event.
Mother’s Day Social
Mothers in the Birth Equity Project attended the Mother’s Day Social held at Gerard Place. This was a fun event to celebrate all of the mothers in the program and a chance for them to connect with others in the program. Staff had crafts, a photographer for family photos, door prizes, and self-care items for participants at the event. We plan to celebrate our mother's every year with a Mother's Day Event.
July – September
Empowering & Mentoring in Medicine
This summer, Erie Niagara AHEC and Jericho Road Community Health Center hosted the 3rd annual Empowering and Mentoring in Medicine Internship. Over six weeks, 14 high school students participated in hands-on activities like suturing, blood draws, CPR, and visits to the Gross Anatomy lab. The program culminated in a graduation ceremony on August 16, where students presented their experiences and were “coated” by their guardian or mentor to celebrate their achievements.
PATCH Orientation & Enrichment Meetings
The Providers and Teens Communicating for Health (PATCH) program, funded by HOPE Buffalo, recently kicked off the year with program training, team-building, and skill development workshops. Each year, PATCH hires 10-12 teens from the Buffalo area to lead discussions on the healthcare needs of their peers. Teen Educators are trained to deliver workshops on healthcare rights, patient-provider relationships, and the importance of teens taking an active role in their care. PATCH hosts two enrichment meetings each month, focusing on health and social justice topics to further educate and support the Teen Educators.
Health Careers Opportunity Program at D’Youville University
Students in health professions graduate programs (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Chiropractics, Nursing/Nurse Practitioner, Dietetics, and Physician Assistant programs) at D’Youville University began their Fall Semester of professional development workshops, where students learned about Cultural Humility and Sensitivity with select communities, Personal and Organizational Health Literacy, the Teach-Back Method and Effective Patient Communication Techniques, and Preventing Provider Burnout and Vicarious Trauma while Seeing Patients.
SEPA Programmatic Year Begins
The SEPA Programmatic year began with Teacher Orientation in August, where local teachers collected water, isolated bacterium, grew colonies, and analyzed types of bacteria so they could instruct their students on how to do the same. Students began working with UB in September to undergo the same research processes their teachers worked through.
AHEC Scholars Cohort 7
The AHEC Scholars Program welcomed 18 new students to Cohort 7! These Scholars are ready to learn how to effectively meet the needs of medically underserved and rural communities in Erie and Niagara Counties. They will look at the social determinants of health, cross cultural communication, interprofessional collaboration, and more to improve the patient experience for better health outcomes. Our Scholars actively find solutions to address both medical and non-medical barriers to care through online modules, internships, clinical rotations, and volunteer opportunities. We are excited to see them make positive impacts in our communities over the next two years.
October – December
Health-Related Programs in Your Neighborhood
Daemen University, in partnership with Erie Niagara AHEC, hosted a Health-Related Programs in Your Neighborhood event, offering students the opportunity to engage in various hands-on activities related to health professions. Students from the College of Health Sciences and the College of Business participated, learning about the admissions process and taking part in a student Q&A panel discussion. Over 39 high school students attended the event, gaining valuable insights into how health professionals collaborate to best meet the needs of patients.
Follow the Patient Day
D’Youville University, partnered with Erie Niagara AHEC, to host a Follow the Patient event, where students followed a simulated patient’s healthcare journey. Over 29 high school students attended, gaining valuable insight into how health professionals collaborate to meet patients' needs.
We are excited to continue our work to empower solutions to achieve healthcare equity in our community in the New Year! Thank you for supporting our organization throughout 2024, we look forward to seeing what 2025 will bring!
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