About Our Community Outreach
Community medicine is a fundamental educational experience for our residents. Ever since Nikitas J. Zervanos, MD, named our department Family and Community Medicine more than 40 years ago, the concept that health care extends far beyond the office visit has been a core tenet of our educational mission. Now population health is taking community medicine principles and expanding them to a broader systems level to promote more effective health-care delivery. Community medicine and population health serve as a critical skill set providing holistic, culturally-sensitive and public health-oriented care to the population we serve.
Residents develop an understanding of how they can interact with the community at large, and also how to change the systems of care involved to enhance the overall health of a population. We expect residents to engage in activities befitting the name Family and Community Medicine.
Our program is well positioned to capture the "real world" experiences of community service and combine that with higher-level system and critical thinking skills necessary to promote change in our current health-care environment.
Residents develop an understanding of how they can interact with the community at large, and also how to change the systems of care involved to enhance the overall health of a population. We expect residents to engage in activities befitting the name Family and Community Medicine.
Our program is well positioned to capture the "real world" experiences of community service and combine that with higher-level system and critical thinking skills necessary to promote change in our current health-care environment.
Over the Past Year Our Recent Activities in the Community
- Coordinating efforts to help vulnerable communities access COVID-19 vaccines and testing
- Developing a street medicine program for homeless individuals in our community
- Inspecting local restaurants and tattoo parlors with the city health officers
- Providing health care to vulnerable populations at a free clinic
- Participating in the annual homeless census
- Working with the agencies that provide educational opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities
- Inspecting houses for lead, with the state lead nurse
- Visiting with United Way of Lancaster County officials
- Providing health-related talks to women in a long-term drug rehab program
- Visiting and working at the school-based health clinics
- Surveying the health needs of the county prison
Recent Collaborations Faculty and Residents Work with Local Organizations
Community medicine is a fundamental educational experience for our residents. The concept that health care extends far beyond the office visit has always been a core tenet of our mission. Now population health is taking community medicine principles and expanding them to a broader systems level to promote more effective health-care delivery.