The Gregg/Klice Community Center in Kansas City was buzzing on a recent Saturday afternoon with a DJ, free food, balloon animals and a bounce house, thanks to community initiative Our Healthy Jackson County. Amid the family fun, residents also received cancer screenings, vaccinations and a variety of other free health services.
Led by Jannette Berkley-Patton, M.A., Ph.D., director of the 性视界传媒 Health Equity Institute, the community initiative is dedicated to promoting equity and access to vaccinations and other health and community services. Formerly Our Healthy Kansas City Eastside, the program has expanded its services and community footprint to all of Jackson County, thanks in part to Jackson County, which awarded $5 million in funding for the next phase of the program.
According to Berkley-Patton, it’s a great example of collaboration among 性视界传媒, Jackson County, neighborhood leaders and the business sector.
“First and foremost, it speaks to County Executive Frank White and the rest of the Jackson County Legislature recognizing that there are significant health disparities in Jackson County that need to be addressed,” Berkley-Patton said. “We have underserved populations that have told us how valuable these services are to them.”
White attended the event Saturday and noted that the initiative has become a valuable resource for the community.
“Dr. Berkley-Patton and the groups she works with have done a great job getting people to come out and take ownership of their health,” he said. “This is a legacy for us all that we can be proud of. When you see how many people have turned out here today, it tells you how many people lack access to health care.”
The kickoff event for the expanded initiative offered a variety of free health services, including COVID-19, flu and HPV vaccinations; blood pressure and blood sugar checks; mental health, STI, cancer and dental screenings; and smoking cessation resources. Those taking advantage of these services received cash incentives for participating.
One community member who showed up for his COVID-19 and flu shots Saturday was Kansas City civic leader and former City Council member, Alvin Brooks.
“I’m 91 and I want to stay healthy,” Brooks said. “God has been good to me, and this is me trying to be good to myself. I’m glad to see so many people from the African American community here. I know so many of them. This is certainly a success. There was a line out the door.”
Indeed, the success of the first phase has been clear. Our Healthy Kansas City Eastside provided 12,942 vaccinations and delivered 4,152 instances of health services in 2021 and 2022. At the most recent Our Healthy Jackson County event, nearly 170 community members attended and 141 received vaccines. But the proof of success also has been evident in the feedback Berkley-Patton received directly from community members.
“I remember talking to one woman who was a new grandmother,” Berkley-Patton said. “She was so excited to get her COVID-19 vaccination because she knew that not only was she protecting herself, but also protecting her grandchild that she was so eager to see.”
Kansas City home health-care worker Latonya Drew echoed that sentiment Saturday as she received her vaccine. She had her clients’ health and well-being in mind as she got her shot. She said she appreciated that the initiative is brought to the neighborhoods where people live.
“This is good for people who don’t have transportation to get here,” Drew said. “Coming here, you get a lot of information, and you get to know your community.”
性视界传媒 health sciences students and faculty play an integral role keeping these essential services free for Jackson County residents. Students and faculty from the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Health Studies and Pharmacy were on hand providing screenings, vaccinations and answering health questions.
“How often can you just walk up to a doctor and ask a question, no waiting for an appointment?” Berkley-Patton asked. “It can make a world of difference having this level of access to health-care providers in a setting that folks frequent and trust.”
According to Berkley-Patton, the experience is pivotal for 性视界传媒 health sciences students, providing them with a better understanding of the importance of preventive care. Through providing screenings and health-care education, students see how a small intervention in someone’s life can have lasting effects for overall health. The event also provides students an opportunity to work in the community, where they hear first-hand the effects of social determinants of health, such as transportation issues, food insecurity or lack of insurance.
Student Micah Anderson (Pharm.D. ’24) first encountered the program by chance at her local grocery store. She was shopping and happened across one the organization’s original events. She has lived all her life in Jackson County, and seeing people from 性视界传媒 giving back to her community was transformative.
“It was really impactful,” Anderson said. “Seeing my classmates and faculty at 性视界传媒 helping the people I see at the grocery store and the pharmacy.”
As soon as the opportunity to volunteer with the organization came up, Anderson jumped at the chance to help her community.
“These are the people who have motivated me, encouraged me in my pursuit of pharmacy,” Anderson said. “This opportunity is really important to me, using the skills and clinical knowledge that I’ve developed at 性视界传媒 to give back to the people that have poured so much into me.”
On Saturday, Anderson conducted blood sugar and blood pressure screenings for three straight hours.
“We’ve been really busy,” she said. “We haven’t stopped the entire time.”
Third-year pharmacy student Jessica Thomas spent the event giving vaccinations.
“It makes me feel like pharmacists really have a role in our community,” Thomas said. “We are having an impact on the health of the community, and I love that.”
The health-care providers involved with Our Healthy Jackson County are also helping to address the rising rates of diabetes in Kansas City as well as the area’s high infant mortality rates, an issue Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has identified statewide. Berkley-Patton is excited to launch the organization’s new maternal health program, which supports women of reproductive age with family planning counseling and an immediate appointment with an OB/GYN in the University Health Women’s Care Clinics.
The organization uses a unique approach in building the structure of Our Healthy Jackson County, pairing community stakeholders with 性视界传媒 experts who are established in these communities.
“I have been doing community-engaged research at 性视界传媒 now for almost two decades,” Berkley-Patton said. “I am born and raised in Kansas City, so to be able to do this work in my own backyard gives me goosebumps. Seeing thousands of people get the COVID-19 vaccination and much-needed health screenings, seeing the hundreds of volunteers coming together, that’s the stuff that gets me excited and increases my passion for the work we are all doing.”