Check out these photos from AMPHS’s talk at the United Senior Citizens center in Sunset Park. Last week, AMPHS visited to educate seniors on how to read food labels.
The AC was cranking on a hot day!
Alice Bonner, RN, NP, and Mon Yuck Yu led the talk for AMPHS.
We had a good crowd, and some of the seniors even took notes!
Here are our AMPHS volunteers with Carmen Rodriquez, one of the administrators at the center.
Many immigrants flock to the United States to seek a better life – in search of better housing, better education, better healthcare. But what happens when they have to adapt to a English-speaking environment; to work long hours in laborious, mentally taxing jobs, making just enough to pay the rent; to live in a crowded apartment with poor living conditions? These factors often combine to cause conditions like hypertension and depression, and then healthcare is not something they’re privileged to receive.
AMPHS sees this scenario play out many times among our community members, especially in Sunset Park. While we do not serve as anyone’s primary care provider, our main goal is to equip community members with the resources to manage their own health and to let them know that there is somewhere to turn for help.
On Saturday, June 21st, we held our monthly healthcare event, providing community members with cardiovascular, dementia, and vision screenings, as well as long-term lifestyle counseling. Our partner, Latino Commission on AIDS, was also on site to provide free HIV screenings. A total of 13 community members were seen and over half were referred to additional resources from our partner organizations, including some who were able to sign up for exams for free prescriptive lenses.
This is a representative image, and is not of one of our community members. Link to image in credit at bottom of article.
Community members came from all walks of life, but what struck us was that many of the issues that they experienced came from strenuous labor, poor eating habits, and hard financial situations. One woman had lost her job because of a broken wrist and then was diagnosed with hypertension and ovarian cancer, but she was too scared to seek therapy due to negative experiences with the local hospital system and unable to pay for procedures because she didn’t have insurance. In situations like these, our clinicians and social workers try to provide them with the resources they need to combat these issues of fear and poor lifestyle behaviors. We address medical questions and concerns from a personalized standpoint to objectively consult with them on the best course of action.
We are happy to provide screenings like these every month. And we hope that community members view us not only as a medical resource but also as a friend when they are in need of any type of health and social assistance. The next in-house screenings will take place Saturday, July 19th and Saturday, August 20th from 1-5pm. We are also proud to announce that we have new screening equipment, thanks to the NYC Council and Barman’s Fund, which will be introduced during our screening this Saturday! Community members interested in scheduling an appointment should call (212) 256-9036.
Image credit: Philly.com
The first session of AMPHS’ Clinical Practice Training Program (CPTP) is now underway! The 6-week course aims to provide participants with a strong overview of the material, concepts, principles, behaviors, and critical thinking needed to succeed in clinical practice.
Through lectures, class discussions, community-based fieldwork, and hands-on clinical practice sessions, students will be able to develop a deeper appreciation for the rigor and intensity of studying the medical sciences.
In addition to equipping students with skills to prepare for future clinical work, the coursework is developed to inherently integrate public health and clinical research principles into the clinical sciences for students to better understand both theory and practice in healthcare.
There is still space available for our fall session, and the deadline for applications is July 25th. For information on how to sign up, or to read more about the program, please visit our CPTP site.
Death and taxes, they say. But let’s also throw in “health concerns.” Everyone has taken medication or seen a doctor or nurse.
Now, imagine you don’t speak English. (How do you tell the nurse how it hurts?) You can’t afford Obamacare. (That pain in your side will get better on its own, right?) You’re afraid of being deported if you go to the emergency room. (But you can’t catch your breath.)
That’s what AMPHS is here for. We are a safe place for people who need help. We don’t charge for our services. We don’t ask for a social security number. And we speak Spanish and Chinese.
The monthly screenings in our Sunset Park offices are among our mostly heavily attended sessions, and the one on May 10 was, in fact, a record-breaker! We saw 22 people over four hours. Consider that a screening consists of time with a clinician as well as a health lifestyle counseling session (and possibly time with one of our social workers), averaging 45 minutes to 1 hour in total; now that’s a pretty impressive number! We were so excited to provide comfort and information to so many needy people.
In addition to our usual screenings, such as blood pressure checks, eye exams and HIV tests, we honored Women’s Health Day by partnering with Project Renewal to provide free mammograms.
“It is amazing how many people are in such dire need of services like this,” says Mon Yuck Yu, Executive VP and Chief of Staff. “It was one of our largest turnouts yet. People are beginning to realize the importance of prevention, but first, they must overcome the hurdles of accessibility.”
AMPHS CEO and clinician Hewett Chiu says, “There was one community member who was suffering from severe back pain and hypertension; after our evaluation of her, we realized that much of her problems stemmed from her weight. We created a plan for her to change her lifestyle behaviors, including her diet. We convinced her that it was important for her to make living healthy a family project; it was something that she needed to do for her children and family. She has been returning to our clinic for continuous follow-up and has seen significant improvements since she first visited our site.”
AMPHS offers free 45-minute in-house screenings the third Saturday of every month. We will also be offering mammograms once again at our site on June 15th between 2pm and 4:30pm in partnership with Project Renewal. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment for a future date (upcoming dates: June 21st and July 19th), please call (212) 256-9036. No insurance or documentation is required. All services are free and confidential.
Thanks to all of our volunteers for making this happen, and also to our partners Project Renewal and Latino Commission on AIDS.
We are delighted to announce that AMPHS has been invited to participate in a number of screening events this summer! In partnership with the Chinese-American Planning Council, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, and CAIPA (Chinese-American Independent Practice Association), AMPHS will help increase awareness among seniors of dementia risk and to enhance community preparedness.
Please contact Ravi Joshi, our Chief Operating Officer, at ravi.joshi@amphsonline.org if you would like to schedule demonstrations and screenings at your organization.
We also offer group certification course. Please contact faculty.resources@amphsonline.org if you are interested!
When: Saturday, May 10th | 11PM – 5PM
Where: 5306 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220
Screening Services: Blood Pressure, Mammograms, Vision Testing, Dementia Screening, BMI Screening, Prescription Assistance, Health Insurance Assistance, Free/Low-cost Corrective Lenses, Health Education Material, Lifestyle Counseling, and More!
For appointments: call (212) 256-9036
When: Saturday, 5/17/2014 | 12pm – 3pm
Where: Sunset Park Recreation Center, 43rd Street and 7th Avenue
Screening Services: Memory Screenings, CPR Demonstrations
Walk-ins welcome; no appointment needed
When:Friday, 5/30/2014 | 10:30am – 11:30am
Where: United Sunset Senior Center, 475 53rd Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220
AMPHS offers a host of health screening facilities for women in Brooklyn. These include a physical exam, screenings for blood pressure, heart abnormalities, vision, memory and sexually transmitted diseases. In collaboration with Project Renewal and Latino Commission on AIDS, we will also be offering free mammograms, HIV, and Hepatitis C screenings this month at our monthly in-house screening event on May 10, 2014 between 1pm and 5pm.
Please be on the lookout for our newsletters for more screenings; and do not hesitate to contact us at clinical.services@amphsonline.org or (212) 256-9036 to schedule a health screening at your institution!
Clinical Volunteer Alice Bonner, RN provides BMI assessment
When: Saturday, April 19 from 1pm – 5pm
Where: AMPHS Headquarters, 5306 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220 (between 53rd and 54th Streets)
Who: Walk-ins welcome; appointments preferred for priority service. Appointments can be scheduled by calling: (212) 256-9036
What: AMPHS will be offering free health screenings for BMI, blood pressure, vision, and memory along with healthy lifestyle counseling and information about health insurance, prescription assistance, and vision assistance. HIV and Hep C screenings will be provided by the Latino AIDS Society. Resources related to a healthy lifestyle will be distributed.
Throughout the years, AMPHS has worked closely with undergraduate and post-bacc students across the country to provide clinical setting exposure, training opportunities, volunteer and internship opportunities in clinical medicine, public health, health policy, and health law and ethics.
In support of our mission and by popular demand, we are bringing back our annual Spring Clinical Practice Introductory Experience, a weekend intensive program for prospective medical, nursing, public health, and allied-health school students designed to equip them with introductory clinical skills and offer experience of what the field of medicine and public health is all about.
Clinical Practice Introductory Experience
Description
Pursuing a career in medicine, allied health professions, and public health is highly rewarding and fulfilling; but involves much time, preparation, hard-work, and of course, money. Undergraduate pre-health school curricula generally do not give an accurate picture of the intensity and rigor of medical school education, and doesn’t provide practical, hands-on experience.
The Academy of Medical and Public Health Services (AMPHS) offers a popular annual weekend intensive program for prospective medical, nursing, public health, and allied-health school students designed to equip them with introductory clinical skills and offer experience of what the field of medicine and public health is all about.
The Clinical Practice Introductry Experience integrates actual health professions school coursework with American Heart Association (AHA) certification courses to simulate a well-rounded clinical experience, where medical professionals and certified instructors will take you on a journey across the clinical experience of what it is like becoming a medical professional. You will attend classes in Cardiac Resuscitation, Medical & Trauma Emergencies, Electrophysiology, and even Public Health and Policy. In addition to being able to take these courses, you will receive 4 certifications, including national AHA certifications in HeartSaver First Aid, Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers, EKG, and an AMPHS Certificate of Completion. These are the same certifications that states require for healthcare professionals to apply for their licensure. The objectives of the experience is to:
In keeping with the unique small-group nature of the program, we only limit 4-6 students into each session. In the past, students have told us that they have preferred smaller groups to allow one-on-one interaction with our faculty members where instructors really get to know them and understand their clinical interests, much unlike large lecture courses in the health professions schools.
Spring 2014 Session
Date: Friday, March 21, 2014 to Sunday, March 23, 2014
Location: Brooklyn Clinical Training Center (5306 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220)
Tuition
$417.00 (includes course tuition for all class sessions, all applicable registration and academic support fees, course materials, certification examination fees for all exams, and all 4 certifications upon successful completion).
General Registration & Tuition Payment Deadlines
Open Enrollment Deadline: Monday, March 10, 2014 at 6:00pm EST
Waitlist Period: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 to Friday, March 15, 2014
Registration
For more information and to register, please email faculty.resources@amphsonline.org indicating your interest for the Spring 2014 Clinical Practice Introductory Experience (Course Code DME14-001).
For more information, please visit us at: www.amphsonline.org.
Please note: We are not a degree-granting institution nor are we associated with any such institutions, including, but not limited to medical schools and graduate or undergraduate universities. All of our instructors are volunteers with expertise in their fields, and all of our certification courses are taught by American Heart Association certified faculty members. Since we at AMPHS are all volunteers giving our time and resources to ensure a safer community, all proceeds from this program will be donated to the AMPHS Community Health Project. This is a collaborative effort in which we provide healthcare access and resources to underprivileged and uninsured families across New York City.
AMPHS clinician performing macular degeneration screening for a community member.
.Nutrition Month AMPHS Health Screening
When: Saturday, March 15, 2014 from 1pm – 5pm
Where: AMPHS Headquarters, 5306 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220
Walk-ins welcome; appointments preferred for priority service. Appointments can be scheduled by calling: (212) 256-9036
AMPHS will be offering free health screenings for BMI, blood pressure, vision, memory screenings along with healthy lifestyle counseling and information about health insurance, prescription assistance, and vision assistance. HIV and Hep C screenings will be provided by the Latino AIDS Society. Since March is Nutrition month, we will also be distributing resources related to a healthy lifestyle.
