2008 Summer Fellowships in Government and Community Service

The goal of the Foundation’s Summer Fellowship Program is to provide medical students with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of how community organizations and/or government works with the medical profession to address health issues in Wisconsin. Each student receives a $3,500 stipend.

The Foundation appreciates the support of physicians mentors who have helped students develop their proposals and will be working with them to provide guidance throughout their fellowships.

Diane Anderson, UW School of Medicine & Public Health
LaPointe Community Clinic, Madeline Island
Work with recently reopened clinic on Madeline Island and its low income and elderly residents to educate them on routine care, research access issues and resources available, and investigate the possibility for an assisted living facility on the island.
Physician Mentor: Margie Frederickson, MD

Brittany Bettendorf, Medical College of Wisconsin
Downtown Health Center, Milwaukee
Reduce the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and improving infant sleeping environments through education and by providing free cribs to appropriate low income parents.
Physician Mentor: John Meurer, MD, MBA

Laura Copeland, Medical College of Wisconsin
Cumberland
Develop, implement and evaluate a healthy lifestyle intervention program for high school students as part of the Healthier Cumberland Coalition.
Physician Mentor: Jane Kotchen, MD, MPH

Jessica Hawley, UW School of Medicine & Public Health
Dane County
Explore the reasons, both qualitatively and quantitatively, for the decline in infant mortality among African American communities in Dane County in the past decade.
Physician Mentor: Thomas Schlenker, MD, MPH

Stephen Humphrey, Medical College of Wisconsin
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Evaluate the effectiveness of Project Ujima referrals among youth patients who have presented to the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin with violent assault-related injuries.
Physician Mentor: Marlene Melzer-Lange, MD

Kristin La Fortune, UW School of Medicine & Public Health
Odana Atrium Primary Care Clinic, Madison
Conduct a feasibility study of overweight and obese adult patients with a six-month nutrition, exercise and mindfulness education intervention.
Physician Mentor: David Rakel, MD

Berthrand Onuoha, Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Work with the Community-Based Chronic Disease Management (CCDM) program to demonstrate the benefits of eliminating central-city barriers to health services by developing sites of health services delivery in nontraditional locations frequented by those patients such as food pantries.
Physician Mentor: Jim Sanders, MD, MPH

Brian Roach, UW School of Medicine & Public Health
Injury Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin
Work with the Injury Research Center to analyze firearm-related deaths among children and young adults in Wisconsin between 2001-2006 for comparisons with other age groups and other types of violent deaths to identify situations and underlying factors leading to firearm fatalities and provide education on ways to reduce firearm injuries to children and youth.
Physician Mentor: Stephen W. Hargarten, MD, MPH

Nathan Vakharia, UW School of Medicine & Public Health
Rural Healthcare
Develop a thorough dissemination and information campaign to rural healthcare providers and critical access hospitals on knowledge and hands-on skills training in emergency medicine for rural primary care physicians.
Physician Mentor: Brad Garber, MD

Brendan Wanta, Medical College of Wisconsin
Injury Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin
Examine data from the National Violent Death Reporting System to further elucidate the nature of violent death among Wisconsin’s elderly and identify risk factors for policy makers to use for recommendations to reduce homicide and suicide among the elderly.
Physician Mentor: Stephen W. Hargarten, MD, MPH