s c i e n c e
Leah Genn’s eye-opening summer
Before second-year med student Leah Genn
left the College of Medicine for a 10-week
summer research fellowship in Baltimore, she
interests and passions are actually an asset, not a have gone above and beyond. I’ve had the
liability, to the public health field,” she said. chance to attend meetings where representatives
Genn was paired with mentor Olufunke
from hospitals, public assistance programs,
admitted she had far too many interests. She Pickering, senior medical director at the the health department and nonprofits identify
hoped the experience would help narrow her Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the where the system fell short and determine how
focus in the field of medicine. Baltimore City Health to improve linkage and access
Department. to care in order to prevent
“As of right now, I’m most interested in
pursuing a career in maternal health, either
Her summer project fell
future deaths. My program has
through specializing in family medicine or under the B’more for Healthy done an incredible job making
OB-GYN,” Genn said before she left for the Babies initiative, which helps us aware of the context in
esteemed CDC-funded Dr. James A. Ferguson combat black-white disparities which we are working.”
Emerging Infectious Diseases Research in infant mortality. Baltimore’s Initiatives for Student Engagement (RISE) black babies are nine times Fellowship Program in May. more likely than its white
But what she found was that her variety of
experiences in research, service-learning and public
health – including two years as a community
As of 2017, B’more for
Healthy Babies had reduced
Genn
babies to die before their first
birthday.
“I expected that I would come into a setting
overall infant mortality by 36%
and the black-white disparity
by 38%. Genn’s research was focused specifically
on B’more Fit for Healthy Babies, a weekly
health and malaria prevention volunteer in the and complete a small research study … and I exercise and nutrition class designed to help
Peace Corps – provided just the right foundation. probably would have been content with that,” reduce postpartum weight retention among
she said. “But this program and my mentors mothers receiving public assistance.
“This fellowship has taught me that my various
Filling the gaps in geriatric care
As more and more older adults call the
training. “Many look at the complexities of
address the often complex health-care needs of geriatrics and feel overwhelmed,” she said. “Our
is growing faster than the workforce. As of 2017 older adults. Many efforts focus on preventing goal is to provide strategies that feel simple,
Florida had only 404 geriatricians, or roughly falls, reducing the number of focus on high-yield areas and
one for every 10,000 people over 65. medications, making sure those empower people to take action
meds don’t conflict with each toward providing older adults
the federal Health Resources and Services other, and communicating with the best care possible.”
Administration, the College of Medicine is effectively with older patients taking a collaborative approach to strengthening and their families.
With a new $3.75 million grant from
Florida’s ability to care for older patients.
“We’re not going to be adequately prepared
The new five-year grant is part
The College of Medicine’s
North and Central Florida
GWEP will highlight
of HRSA’s national Geriatrics interprofessional care and a
to meet the needs of our older patients in Workforce Enhancement holistic approach to looking
Florida with anything less than a comprehensive Program (GWEP). The after older adults. That means a
approach,” said Paul Katz, chair of the college’s Department of Geriatrics broad definition of the health-
Department of Geriatrics. “There are many gaps received its first grant from the care workforce to include
in care. You have to identify those gaps and the program in 2015, totaling $3 everyone from home health
dearth of resources in Florida – especially rural million after an extension.
areas of Florida, which our projects focus on.”
The goal is to better equip the workforce to
Sunshine State home, the need for geriatricians
The grant funds statewide partnerships and
As a geriatrician and an educator, Lisa
Granville, associate chair of the Department
workers to faith-based caregivers,
PAs, nurses, physicians, health educators, and
assisted-living residents and their families.
a series of projects focused on giving a wide of Geriatrics and co-principal investigator of range of health-care professionals the necessary GWEP, knows the importance of incorporating patient and family engagement and integrating
training and resources. key, geriatric-care strategies into practice and primary care and geriatrics.
6
GWEP’s projects also focus on maximizing