Date: March 21, 2012

Seeing our first community member coming up the steps, eyes open wide and expecting, we rush to help.  We know we can make a difference and we are eager to.  Hello sir, my name is Barbara and I am a volunteer here at AMPHS.  Now that is one statement we will never get tired of saying.”  – Ms. Barbara Olivier, Coordinator of Youth Programs and Clinical Volunteer, AMPHS

The Academy of Medical and Public Health Services (AMPHS) has been committed to rigorously training their clinical volunteers to provide the highest standard of healthcare services to community members.  Through a combination of lecture sessions, recitation sessions, laboratory sessions, and clinical rotations, volunteers have been trained in matters relating to community members’ confidentiality such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, initial encounters, communication and referral, as well as areas in medicine such as general screening procedures, optometry, cardiology, respiratory, and memory and cognition.

AMPHS performs the majority of their health screenings, as part of the Community Health Project, in the Sunset Park neighborhood, a large immigrant community of Brooklyn.  AMPHS makes significant effort during its training program to expose and educate volunteers on regulatory requirements such as HIPAA to ensure every community member’s information is kept confidential, in fostering a diversified volunteer staff to meet the ethnicity demands of New York’s melting pot of community members, and train and provide understanding around the religiosity impact on healthcare decisions.

Mrs. Adriene Clark, Vice President of Community Engagement, AMPHS says,  “AMPHS ensures that these [above] important community concerns are upheld through continuous training efforts that are in place at the beginning as well as during each volunteer’s time spent working at AMPHS.”

She goes on to say, “AMPHS seeks to be all inclusive in its approach to ensuring that there exists qualified and competent volunteers to attend to those community members we serve by applying a multifaceted approach to the volunteers’ experience.”

The clinical training program, a mandatory program for all individuals interested in becoming an AMPHS clinical volunteer and taking part in the organization’s Community Health Project, requires volunteers to be dedicated and motivated to learn and study the subject matter, and are tested on the  information acquired in the program.  Volunteers must obtain 36 hours of clinical training and score a minimum of a B average in the program before being able to offer non-evasive heath screenings.

Mr. Jonathan Gettinger, Coordinator of Community Health Services, AMPHS and a clinical volunteer gave an account of his experience in the clinical training program, “The clinical training program, as taught by Hewett Chiu, has provided me with the essential skills necessary to help further AMPHS’ mission of providing free health services to the community, as well as all those who need it.  I now feel confident in my ability to provide the medical services that AMPHS regularly delivers.”

About AMPHS: The  Academy of Medical and Public Health Services (AMPHS) is a humanitarian 501(c)3 non-profit organization operated exclusively by volunteers dedicated to providing healthcare services to underprivileged communities of Brooklyn and New York City.  From strengthening our foundation through the public trust, we work to integrate healthcare systems, education, awareness, and disease prevention such that all people can appreciate healthcare not as a privilege, but as a basic human right.

For more information about us, please visit us at: national.amphsonline.org

To get involved with AMPHS and become a clinical volunteer, please contact Mon Yuck Yu at: mon.yuck.yu@amphsonline.org.

About AMPHS Community Health Project:  The Community Health Project has been created to meet certain defined needs within several communities. The ultimate goal is to integrate the main core principles and concepts of education, research, and public service together to supplement the healthcare system in providing services to underprivileged populations.   At the end of the day, we are filling in the gaps of healthcare.

This project consists of 5 components:

– Free community health screenings:
– Health Access & Coverage Assistance Coverage Program
– Prescription Assistance Program
– Community Education Seminars
– Public Health Research

For more information about our Community Health Project, please visit us at: http://www.amphsonline.org/national/chp.htm