Residents begin working with community faculty on planning their project in their second year of training, after spending their first year learning about life in their partner community. Numerous projects have been completed by more than four dozen residents in nearly ten communities. Some of those projects are highlighted below.
Fruit of the Month Club (2009-10)
River Delta Middle School Transition Effort (2009)
Community Partner: River Delta Healthy Start
Synopsis: Coming soon!
Yuba County Water-Safe Youth (2009)
Community Partner: Harmony Health Family Resource Center
Synopsis: The greater Sacramento area is rich with waterways, perfect for cooling down during the valley's hot summer months. These waterways, however, have proven not only excellent recreation, but, unfortunately, dangerous destinations for children, youth and adults who fail to see them as potential threats when taken lightly.
Youth in the "R Spot" youth club at Harmony Health Family Resource Center in Marysville, will be headed for some summer splashing fun in late July when they venture out for their 2nd Annual Yosemite Camping Trip (a project initiated by fellow CPT Resident Rachel Nelson, see below). In order to best protect these youth while they are camping - and when they arrive home and head for nearby Yuba River - Residents Tausala Coleman and Tuzdy Davis set out to see how much info these kids had, and what they would be willing to learn.
Check out the exciting news coverage by the community's local paper, the Appeal-Democrat.
KidZone at Celebrate Oak Park! event (2009)
Community Partner: Oak Park Neighborhood Association
Synopsis: "For our CPT project we reorganized the Kids' Zone area of the annual "Celebrate Oak Park" community event to include physical activity, nutrition and safety learning stations in order to reach out to all Oak Park residents, particularly children and their families. We utilized a passport program that required each child to visit several activity stations and then at the completion of their passports the children received participation certificates and healthy snacks. The physical activity stations included jumping rope, shooting baskets, jumping jacks, pushups, sit-ups, hula hooping, and dancing, as well as a traditional Velcro wall, Sponge Bob jump house, 3-in-1 bounce house and rock climbing wall, which have been successful activities at past "Celebrate Oak Park" events. An important component of the Kids' Zone also included helmet safety education; we were able to distribute free helmets to children who needed them thanks to a generous donation from the UC Davis Trauma Prevention Program. We also had nutrition stations where we discussed the food pyramid, healthy eating, guidelines for physical activity and more."
MYA Girls Group (2008-09)
Community Partner: Cordova Community Collaborative
Synopsis: Project in progress, check back soon!
Waste Warriors (2008)
Community Partner: Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative
Synopsis: Coming Soon!
R Spot Character Camping Trip (2008)
Community Partner: Harmony Health Family Resource Center
Synopsis: Post-trip thoughts from Dr. Nelson:
“I just returned from probably the grandest adventure of my life: Yosemite in August with 18 kids ages 9-17 who'd never been more than 50 miles from Linda, CA (a city 75 miles NE of Sacramento).
Never heard of Linda? Well-known for nothing (good or bad), not one famous person claims it as hometown. Far from any sort of mountains, miles from the ocean, it's a god-forsaken town in the middle of nowhere. There are a few people that eek out an existence--migrant farmers, a few military personal from the nearby airbase, bedroom commuters from Sacramento, and of course meth dealers. Unfortunately, meth dealers seem to be taking over like hardy weeds in a small vegetable garden.
But Linda city has young people. And these young people want something better. R spot was formed to target young people whose parents have been sited for drug abuse. Rather than having the children removed from the home and transplanted into an underpaid, overutilized, overgovernmetized foster system, these children are in an intensive program to keep them with a parent. I first became acquainted with R spot about 6 months ago. I was struck with the odds these kids have to fight against: parents that both use and therefore cannot parent, poverty, social stigma, learning disabilities (as parents used while they were in utero), gangs, violence, temptation to use drugs themselves, sex, and so on. I realized that although these kids wanted something better, they didn't have the tools to get it.
So, I dreamed up a trip to Yosemite where I would take them away from gangs, TV, radio, drugs, bad food, and bad parents and drop them into the middle of wilderness where they could be indoctrinated with something better. It sounded very good and simple on paper. Filled with high aims, high hopes, high ambitions I begin planning the great Yosemite 2008 adventure back in February 2008. Thanks to your $1000 AAP grant and another $1500 the R spot children raised doing car washes, we were able to secure adequate resources for the trip.
Despite date changes, ALL the mentors backing out, and an untimely counted-on bus demise, plans for the trip continued. On August 11, 2008 our group of 18 children, 6 adults, 5 cars, 8 tents, 4 camping chairs, and 1 hammock started out for Yosemite.
I drove the pick-up truck, which was piled so high with gear I couldn't see out the back window. I took two boys with me: Sam aged 13 and Ben aged 16. Sam had never been to Sacramento before. His "well-traveled" brother had been to Sacramento once before. He enjoyed pointing out the large, old buildings; draw bridge (X2), and various other landmarks to his eager younger brother. Both boys were amazed at all the traffic. The younger one kept asking me if we would get lost on such a busy freeway that kept changing lanes, names, and so on. He was so worried that I finally gave him a map and told him he could be my navigator. He took this job very seriously, but got a bit mixed up and kept asking if the next exit was for Yosemite (which was still 120+ miles away!).
Thankfully, we made it through Sacramento without event. This was one grand adventure for these boys. As we turned along highway 120 and started toward Groveland we passed a long desert session with pointed hills and flat topped mountains. Sam was convinced this MUST be Egypt and the pointed hills HAD to be pyramids. Ben said it wasn't Egypt but looked more like Africa with the flat-topped mountains. An argument would have ensued until I pointed out that the left side of the road could be Egypt and the right side could be Africa. That seemed to settle things a bit.
As we started up the steep ascent to Groveland, they could hardly contain their excitement; I thought they might crawl through the window. "You mean we are driving up a real mountain. Is Yosemite at the top? Will Yosemite be as tall as this mountain? Will we camp on the tip of the mountain? How will we keep our tent from falling off the mountaintop? Will I see a mountain lion? What about a bear, will we see a bear? I heard that bears like to eat people. I hope I see a chipmunk. Can I feed the squirrels? Will birds eat out of my hand?" You would have thought this was the land of Canaan by the way they talked.
After 3 hours of driving, we made it to our campsite. Unfortunately, the reservations I had carefully made for Sweetwater campground next to Yosemite were actually for Sweetwater campground next to MONO LAKE (5 hours away). What a catastrophe. Mercifully, the camp manager graciously offered to honor our reservation. Technically, he should have charged us for 6 spots, but he liked our group and so only charged us for 4. We ended up saving almost 100 dollars thanks to this mistake!!
Kids poured out of vehicles. Surprisingly, they were really adept at setting up the tents. They had so much fun figuring out where each tent would go. I nixed the idea of girls/guys sleeping in one tent. I said that if that happened I WOULD SLEEP IN THE GUYS TENT with the girls. That definitely wasn't cool, so guys and girls slept separately. I pitched my tiny backpacking tent next to the guy’s tent; it was so close that I could touch their tent from inside mine. No monkey business with me around.
Our first hike was somewhat challenging. Most of these kids (and adults) had never hiked, let alone walked in their lives! I THOUGHT the initial hike through the pine forest to the large Sequoias would be an easy warm up. Three hours later, I was worried I'd be carrying a couple of the adults out on stretchers. It didn't help that they had had cigarettes just prior to the hike. Somehow, they all managed to hobble back to the cars, stiff, sore, and a little out of joint (their mood that is). The kids, however, had a blast. They saw deer, chipmunks, huge trees, and large pinecones. One child alone took 130 pictures on a borrowed camera.
After supper back at camp we discussed our first character trait: responsibility. It was a great one to start the trip with, as many of them had already displayed some LACK of responsibility on the hike and with dinner clean up.
After dinner, I had planned a long night hike to make sure they were completely worn out before going to bed. None of the adults went (save myself). The kids tried so hard to be quiet, they all wanted to see a bear or a mountain lion. Of course, they were scared. Two of the little boys and one of the girls clung to me, jumping at every snapping twig. Ben carefully shined his light along the forest wall. "AHHHHHH I see a mountain lion!!!!!" All the kids SCREAMED. I was skeptical. "I did," insisted Ben. "I saw something with 2 green eyes that stared at me and it had large white teeth." I think he actually saw a cow (our hike was through a cow pasture next to camp...) but he was sure it was a mountain Lion. He wanted to see one SOOOO badly, I decided to not try to ruin his delusion. Having seen our "mountain lion," we slowly made our way back to camp--and bed. I thought the boys would stay up talking but they were so tired they fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows.
Our adventures on Tuesday began early. After an activity on the character train resourcefulness, we piled into our cars and headed back to Yosemite Valley. I had originally planned to take the entire group up Vernal falls. After Monday's hike, however, most of the adults and at least 6 of the kids were clamoring for an easier hike. So... I divided the group in two. One group +2 adults went to happy Isles, the other headed up the mist trail. Of the group that started the mist trail, only HALF made it to the top, I left the other half with the remaining 4 adults at the bridge (about 1/2 way up). Only about 8 kids made it all the way up (1.5 miles to the top). The boys that made it were super pumped. They were SO proud of themselves. I was SOOO proud of them, as well. On the way down all the guys were saying how easy the hike really was and how next time they were going to climb half dome and then maybe try El Capitan. I hope they do.
We recollected our group on the way down and eventually joined up with the group we'd left at Happy Isles. After a wonderful picnic under the pine trees, we headed back to camp. The kids tried to drag the evening out as long as possible. One little boy kept asking me why we had to go back tomorrow: "But Rachel, YOU don't have to work tomorrow, why don't YOU stay with us?" The lack of food, transportation back, and showers really didn't seem logical explanations to him. Another 12 y/o boy, Bill (not his real name) wouldn't leave my side. His parents have basically abandoned him. He looked at me like his own mother. When we were sitting at the fire, he said, "Rachel, can I just sit by you?" I said, "Yes," and he sat next to me the entire time. Sam also pretended I was his mom. Although he's 13, he's the size of a 9 y/o secondary to very poor nutrition. He told me that I NEEDED him to help me. He insisted on carrying anything that I picked up. If I was helping with dinner, he wanted to help. Anywhere I went Sam went with me. Both boys made it to the top of Bridelveil falls. Sam didn't have much trouble, but the only reason Bill made it up is because he wanted to hike with me. It brings tears to my eyes; they were so hungry for someone to love them.
That night we also talked about Self-Control. The kids were sobered by the stories of people who lacked self-control. All of them agreed that this was probably the most important character trait to master.
We drove back the next morning. At first, the kids did NOT want to take the tents down: "Rachel, you promised we could stay an extra day, I heard you say so last night!!" (Amazing what kids think they hear!). I suggested that if they got the tents and all gear packed up by 10 am we could go swimming on the way back. That worked like magic. Tents came down, food disappeared, and the camp was peopleless before 10:30 am. As I promised, we stopped by a really beautiful swimming hole on the way out. It was complete with a waterfall and a 17-foot cliff you could jump from into the pool below. The guys had a great time. I even went off it once. After an hour swim, we loaded up the cars and begin the 3-hour trek home.
The boys spent half the time telling me about all the things they would put up in their rooms when they got home (sticks, stones, Yosemite map). I noticed that Ben wasn't drinking out of his water bottle. I asked him why. He told me he was saving the water so he could take it to his mother. He wanted her to see how good Yosemite water tastes. He was sure once she tasted the water she would want to bring him back again!
Saying goodbye was hard for me. They had become like my very own children. For three days I'd been their mom and I loved each of them. Kids are resilient; saying goodbye is harder on us adults. Sometimes I wish I could take them all home with me and be a loving mother to them and make up for all the bad times they have had in their life.”
Urban Cowgirls' & Boys' Bike Rodeo (2007-Present)
Community Partner: Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative
Synopsis: Residents Martin Lee & Chetan Mistry noticed the high number of children walking to and from school in the Tahoe/Colonial community of southeast Sacramento. They also noticed many of them making common and potentially costly safety mistakes. So the young doctors worked with their Community Faculty Heather Hutcheson, a neighbor and advocate in the community, to put on the community's first-ever "Urban Cowgirls' & Boys' Bike Rodeo" in the fall of 2007.
Dr. Chetan, Dr. Martin and Heather were also able to pull in the UC Davis Injury Prevention Program, which supplied a "safety city," script, bicycle helmets and educational materials at the event. The residents also worked with Heather to involve the local REI store, Kaiser Permanente and other sponsors.
With more than 200 children and families in attendance at the first event, the community recognized its importance and has vowed to make it an annual tradition!
Festival of Trees (2007-2008)
Community Partner: Cordova Community Collaborative
Synopsis: Resident Steven Smith worked with children and youth from the Rancho Cordova Youth Advisory Council (RCYAC) to explore the spirit of giving during the 2008 holiday season, by participating in Sacramento's 2nd Annual "Festival of Trees" event. The Festival of Trees is an annual celebration that happens in cities all over the United States. Community groups and businesses "adopt" holiday trees and deocorate them with a variety of ornaments, gifts and other items, and then auction them off, donating proceeds to local charities. The Sacramento Festival proceeds go toward the Cathedral Square Homeless Program.
Dr. Smith began his project by talking with members of the RCYAC about the Festival of Trees celebration, and the organization it benefits. He used this opportunity to open a wider discussion around civic engagment and community service, and how they actually help improve the health of communities. Then the fun began, when the youth started to design their tree with Dr. Smith. They chose to use a "gingerbread children" theme, cutting large gingerbread shapes from wood to stain and stand around the tree. The youth also wrote brief paragraphs about their future career aspirations, and helped raise funds to purchase gifts relative to those careers, that could be placed under the tree.
Alicia Middle School Mural & Cookbook (2007-08)
Community Partner: Harmony Health Family Resource Center
Synopsis: Dr. Jennifer Jocson worked with local artist Louis Letheridge and students from Alicia Middle School in Linda, California, to create a vibrant mural across from the school cafeteria to remind students how attractive healthy eating and active living can be.
Following Jennifer's lead, Dr. Johann Peterson wanted to take the mural project one step further, by helping students create a cookbook of recipes that they would enjoy and be able to prepare themselves. Johann worked with an Alicia Middle School science teacher to collect recipes from students. The project received an overwhelming response, as dozens and dozens of recipes poured in. The next step was selecting recipes that could be made more healthfully by substituting ingredients or cooking methods, which Johann also worked with students to do. Once recipes were ready to go, students created illustrations for the book and Johann worked with UCD staff to get it put together and printed.
Jennifer and Johann celebrated the mural and cookbook at a community ribbon cutting ceremony in the Spring of 2008.
Ninos Cansados Mentes Cansadas video (2007)
Community Partner: Children First - Flats Network
Synopsis: Working with Spanish-speaking parents and their children from the Flats community as actors, Dr. Debra Hendrickson wrote and directed a culturally-appropriate video on the importance of sleep in children's functioning and education. Debra included school teachers, who talked about their classroom struggles with students who came to class without proper amounts of rest; she also worked with UC Davis faculty pediatrician Erik Fernandez y Garcia in the production of the video.
After the completion of the video, Debra and her community faculty Juanita Jue worked with Washington Elementary School to host a video "release party," where the video was shown for the first time ever, accompanied of course by popcorn, apple juice and craft projects. Debra and Juanita presented the community "actors" with "Oscars" for their hard work, and thank you certificates to the teachers, Dr. Fernandez y Garcia and other key project helpers.
The video was edited and copied onto CD's by Juan Trujano, a UCD employee, and were distributed to families and teachers in the Flats community as well as the UC Davis Continuity Clinic for use by other pediatricians with their Spanish-speaking patients and families.
Colonial Park Healthy Kids' Cookbook (2005-06)
Resident: Laura Hufford
Community Partner: Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative
Synopsis: After meeting the children at the Colonial Park Mentoring Program during her first year of Residency, Dr. Laura Hufford knew she wanted to work with them. Laura contacted Shirley Johnson, the volunteer program coordinator (since its inception more than 25 years ago). Laura and Ms. Johnson discussed possible ways to target the children's healthy eating habits and decided that, for these children, many of whom prepare most of their own meals, a cookbook made FOR them and BY them would be the best way to go!
Laura met with some of the children from the program to discuss their favorite foods. Items like pizza, hamburgers, tacos and milkshakes were all listed, as Laura had anticipated, so she challenged the children to think of ways to make those meals but with healthier foods. At first the children were skeptical - until Laura came to the next session with some delicious cookies made from all natural, nutritious ingredients! From that point on, the children were sold and they continued together to develop the Colonial Park Healthy Kids' Cookbook.
As part of the project, the children chose their favorite foods and researched healthy ways to make them. Once the children developed their recipies (with help from Laura and other community volunteers), they tried them out at a community "Cookbook Release" party, where stations for a handfull of the recipies were set up and attendees got to try making each one. The children also worked with Laura on creating and producing the book, by contributing colorful illustrations. The books were then sold locally to help raise funds for the Mentoring Program.
Yuba's Drive to Health (2005-06)
Resident: Zack Taylor
Collaborative: Yuba Community Collaborative
Synopsis: In a year-long competition, school children from Yuba County, California compete to see who takes the most steps during after-school exercise time, as measured by a pedometer, in an imaginary race across the United States. The consistent walkers (or runners or climbers, or whatever each child chooses to do) get rewards during the contest. We monitor the children’s height and weight (BMI) and blood pressure during the contest, and we will perform a survey and follow-up measurements 4 months afterward. A parade is planned to celebrate the children’s effort with parents, doctors, community members, and newspaper coverage.
The CDC states that 64% of adults are overweight or obese, and now 15% of children and adolescents are overweight, a rate that is growing and has doubled since the 1970’s. Although no study has been done on the rates of obesity in Yuba County or the West Linda community in particular, there is a high rate of poverty in this area, which has been associated with higher rates of obesity. There are 50-70 children attending the afterschool program at the Riverside Restoration House in West Linda, and so far 44 kids have been signed on to the project and have been making tracks in a flurry of activity.
West Linda is a small community south of Yuba City in northern California. The group of children I am working with is from Cedar Lane elementary school, in an area with a large Hmong population, estimated at 15-20%, as well as Hispanic, white, and African American groups. As of 2002, 25% of children in Yuba County lived in poverty, one of the highest rates in the state. It is a rural community surrounded by agricultural land, devoted largely to olive trees. The closest pediatrician’s office is in Yuba City, a 15 minute drive to the north, though there are county medical facilities located closer.
Project partners included: Riverside Restoration Center, Sutter Pediatrics (Yuba County), Harmony Health Family Resource Center, Larry Geweke Ford and Wal-Mart.
CFFN Health & Safety Fair (2004-2006)
Residents: Han Vu & Emily Scott
Collaborative: Children First - Flats Network
Synopsis: Together with Collaborative Coordinator Juanita Jue, Dr. Han Vu created a family event for members of the Flats community that would not only bring people together, but celebrate their culture while celebrating health as well.
Working with a largely Spanish-speaking population, Juanita and Han enlisted the help of local individuals and associations who knew and understood the culture of the community. Han rallied fellow pediatric residents and medical students along with drug representatives (for give away prizes); while Juanita worked with county officials to secure health screenings, and the CSUS Barrio Arts program to bring latino mask-making and other craft activities to the event.
With more than 300 community members in attendance, the event was deemed a success, and in 2005, Dr. Emily Scott, also a resident at UCD, volunteered to spearhead the 2nd installment of this now-annual event.
In 2006 and 2007, without residents available during the right time of year to implement the event, the Flats community felt so strongly about continuing the event that they took the resources, contacts and infrastructure laid out by Han and Emily in the first two years, to put on the fair themselves!
Bridging the Gap Between Lactation Specialists & Physicians (2004-06)
Residents: Jennifer Jackson & Shontae Buffington with Cindy Nguyen & KC Cumbermack
Collaborative: Yuba Community Collaborative
Synopsis: Dr. Jennifer Jackson came into her project knowing she wanted to work on lactation awareness, but she didn't quite know how much her partner community wanted to work in it with her! With two internationally-certified lactation specialists onsite, the Yuba Community Collaborative's partner, Harmony Health, was still having a hard time getting local pediatricians to talk with new moms about breastfeeding, or to even talk with the Specialists.
Enter Jennifer and her project. Working with the Lactation Specialists, fellow residents KC and Cindy, and UC Davis Pediatrician Caroline Chantry, Jennifer created a talk that could be targeted specifically to local pediatricians. KC worked with UC Davis to get any physicians in attendance Continuing Medical Education credits, and the Collaborative sponsored lunch.
Two years after Jennifer began the project, the talk was finally given in July of 2006, by resident Shontae Buffington, also a new, breastfeeding mother. Shontae's delivery - with Lactation Specialist Elizabeth VanSant - was a well-received success, attended by more than thirty local health professionals.
"Zdorovie Deti" ("Healthy Children") Russian Radio Show (2004-06)
Resident: Inessa Gofman
Collaborative: Cordova Community Collaborative
Synopsis: When Dr. Inessa Gofman, a first-year Resident with CPT learned of the high Russian immigrant population in her Collaborative community, she was excited at the possibility of using her own native language—Russian—to communicate important health information to those who are often left out of mainstream health education efforts due to language barriers.
With help and guidance from her Collaborative Coordinator, Inessa partnered with Afisha, a Russian multimedia group that airs Russian programs on 1430AM and operates the Diaspora Newspaper in the Greater Sacramento area. Dr. Gofman looked to Diaspora editor Yuriy Korotkov for help in providing presentations and call-in opportunities for Russian-speaking families on the show she entitled “Zdorovie Deti,” (or "Healthy Children" when translated into in English). The show aired four times in four months, using the Collaborative for direction on relevant topics.
Zdorovie Deti first aired on December 22, 2003 and discussed the CPT project and the importance of well-child visits. The second show, which aired on January 22nd, 2004, focused on the common cold and flu, naming symptoms and giving suggestions for prevention. Show number three aired on February 26th, discussing the importance of immunizations. The March 25th show focused on Tuberculosis vaccinations. Different vaccinations are given in the USSR for TB than are given in the United States. Many times when people from the USSR immigrate to the US, they are reluctant to accept a new TB vaccination as they have already received one in their native country. Inessa’s talk focused on the difference between the two vaccinations and the need for new US residents to accept the vaccination when they arrive.
Inessa, the Cordova Community Collaborative and Afisha went on to make Zdorovie Deti a monthly program on 1430AM, and in the Fall of 2005 received a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics' CATCH program to fund transcription and additional focus groups to help identify additional topics of interest to listeners.
Dog Bite Prevention Program (2004-05)
Resident: Stephanie Flaherty
Collaborative: Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative
Synopsis: Dr. Stephanie Flaherty created and taught a lesson for children on how to prevent dog bites and what to do in case of a dog attack.
Stephanie's idea for the project was spurred by the number of traumas due to dog attacks/bites that she saw in the pediatric emergency room during a month-long rotation there. Stephanie combined that experience with her recollection of the number of dog-owners perusing the local park at TCC and her love of dogs, and approached Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative staff about putting together information for children and parents on how to prevent dog bites.
After consulting numerous web-based resources, and taking into account her own experiences with children approaching her large Husky, Stephanie put together a lesson complete with the do's and don'ts of approaching a dog, and what to do (or not to do) in case of a dog attack.
In order to "test drive" the lesson, Stephanie worked with TCC staff to put together an afternoon presentation in the park across from the local Tahoe Elementary School. Stephanie enlisted the help of the school Crossing Guard, who had closer relationships with parents due to his day-to-day contact with them, and he helped encourage parents to stay for the afterschool presentation. Stephanie also approached dog owners strolling with their pets in the local park, explained her project and asked if they would come on the day of the presentation, with their dogs, so that children could practice their newly acquired techniques.
After all of Stephanie's hard work, she and the TCC staff and community members were disappointed that it rained on the day of the scheduled presentation. However, seven children along with two parents attended the workshop, and one community member came with her dog. Despite the less than overwhelming attendance, Stephanie and the TCC community were pleased that the children loved learning and interacting more strategically with the dogs.
In May 2005, Stephanie scheduled two more dog bite prevention lessons, this time getting permission from the Principal at Tahoe Elementary to do the presentation on the school grounds. She invited the START afterschool program in addition to those parents picking up their children. In all, sixty children attended the May 3, 2005 presentation at Tahoe Elementary School. Dr. Flaherty also took her presentation to the Colonial Park Mentoring Program, just a few blocks away. This grassroots, volunteer-run program has been in the TCC community for more than twenty years. Program founder Shirley Johnson welcomed Stephanie and her dog, Nanook, with open arms, and she delivered her talk to fourteen children and youth.
Career Day (2004)
Residents: Marc Chinn & Evelina Krieger
Collaborative: Children First - Flats Network
Synopsis: Drs. Chinn and Krieger spent a morning at Washington Elementary School in the heart of downtown Sacramento, talking to children about the profession of medicine, why it is important, why they shouldn't be scared of the doctor and how to follow their dreams and achieve their own goals. Dr. Chinn and Dr. Krieger demonstrated various instruments used by physicians and answered questions from interested students.
The Career Day curricula and materials collected by Drs. Chinn & Krieger continue to be used not just in the Flats community but in other CPT partner communities as well, to educate and inspire children to dream about their futures and create goals that will help them achieve.
Life Skills Curriculum (2002-Present)
Residents: Allan Taylor, Omar Ahmed, Hay Cheam, Kevin Hamann, Allison Wong & Ryan Caltagirone
Collaborative: Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative
Synopsis: Together with community members, educators, parents and students, TCC and its pediatric residents identified more than thirty topic areas from anger management to dental care and nutrition to self-esteem. Of these topic areas, fourteen were identified as “priority,” based on the health-related issues faced most heavily by the community. Each resident chooses three to five topic areas and develops curriculum around their topic, for a specific age group, throughout their involvement in the program. Completed curriculum lessons are added to the Life Skills Curriculum binder, which will be kept at the Tahoe/Colonial Community & Family Resource Center, as a resource for educators and community members.
Residents work with TCC’s elementary school nurse and with curriculum already developed as part of the Life Skills Curriculum project, to teach elementary school students how to care for their growing bodies. With the continued accumulation of Life Skills Curriculum lessons, TCC and the residents will expand the Life Skills Lessons to local mentoring programs and summer camps, as well.
Life Skills Curricula & Lessons created to date include:
- Bike, Rollerblade & Skateboard Safety by Omar Ahmed
- Lice, lice, lice! by Hay Cheam
- Nutrition by Hay Cheam
- Nutrition & Marketing Messages by Allison Wong
- Sex Education for 7th Grade Boys & their Fathers by Kevin Hamann
- Sun Safety by Omar Ahmed
- School Health: Residents Teaching Students about their Bodies by Ryan Caltagirone
Cordova Community Survey (2002-03)
Resident: Andrew Lan
Collaborative: Cordova Community Collaborative
Synopsis: Dr. Andrew Lan created a community survey for an area of Rancho Cordova. The survey data was compiled for the Weed and Seed federal grant application, an initiative of the Cordova Community Collaborative (CCC). Dr. Lan researched the evaluation and survey requirements of the grant, as well as those interests of the Collaborative in order construct a quality community needs assessment survey, which he then took door-to-door to hundreds of homes. Because the Cordova Community has a large number of Russian-speaking immigrants, Dr. Lan worked with the Folsom-Cordova Unified School District's translation department to take a Russian-spekaing translator with him on his visits.
Dr. Lan's efforts combined with the efforts of the Collaborative, won CCC the Federal Weed & Seed Grant in 2003.
No Butts (2002)
Resident: Valerie Weiss
Collaborative: Cordova Community Collaborative
Synopsis: Dr. Valerie Weiss conducted a smoking cessation presentation to 5th, 6th and 7th grade students in the STARS after school program of Folsom-Cordova Unified School District. Valerie focused on improving & refining a project she had worked on in the past used it to present to the students. Valerie spoke to more than 600 children on the consequences of smoking and how it affects their health, using visual aids such as a can of tar and a long (5-foot) list of the ingredients in cigarettes.
Valerie's presentation (and original materials) continue to be utilized by the community each year during it's "Red Ribbon Week" (anti-drug) celebration.