VCOM View Vol 8-1

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Kids Just Want to PLAY VCOM gets involved with local elementary school students to encourage healthy behaviors.

I n the fall of 2015, VCOM–Carolinas students began a new public health initiative, the Promoting Lifelong Activity in Youth (PLAY) Program. The PLAY Program helps local children to understand and appreciate the benefits of exercise, to cultivate a positive self-image that facilitates a desire to make healthy life choices, and learn fun, safe, and creative activities that will empower them to make a commitment to lifelong wellness. The goals of the PLAY program are grounded in Osteopathic principles and on the belief that good health requires a balance of mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Second year students Vanessa A. Hortian and Meghan K. Milligan conceived this program with the guidance and support of Hannah Sahhar, MD, Discipline Chair of Pediatrics, and Alexis Stoner,

O n November 2, VCOM–Carolinas students participated in an Interprofessional Education (IPE) Immersion Event. As part of a developing Interprofessional Certificate Program, the event is designed to provide a basis for students to make educated clinical decisions in a collaborative setting. The program begins in a student’s first year of medical school and ends in the underserved care/ family medicine rotation of the third year. During these three years, students will participate in Immersion Events with the Lander University nursing program and the Presbyterian College of Pharmacy. Students who successfully complete the IPE program will be recognized upon graduation. ◄ Professor of Clinical Prevention and Population Health. This program supports VCOM’s mission to address the needs of the medically underserved community and promote research to improve community health. The PLAY Program accomplishes this by collaborating with Meeting Street Academy, a local charter school that primarily educates underserved children in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Vanessa and Meghan successfully launched The PLAY Program in October 2015 with the help of second year student ACOP volunteers, Adriana Delgado, Justin Lohmann, and Jeffrey Rice. VCOM students will continue to collaborate with Meeting Street Academy to offer additional PLAY Events throughout the remainder of the school year. ◄

Collaboration for Success

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