Health Careers Opportunities Program (HCOP) > FY 2004 Grant Abstracts

Alabama

Alabama State University
Department of Biological Sciences
Karyn Scissum-Gunn, Ph.D.
915 South Jackson Street
Montgomery, AL 36101-0271
(334) 229-4301
FAX (334) 229-4288
kgunn@asunet.alasu.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

Alabama State University (ASU) is a historically black, four-year liberal arts institution.  The university is committed to developing a more competitive applicant pool of and preparing disadvantaged students for health and allied health careers.  The university has several programs that are specifically targeted to disadvantaged students.  It supports the current HCOP program through guaranteed scholarship to all eligible HCOP participants who enroll in ASU’s pre-health curriculum, and reimbursement of MCAT and application fees to medical schools. 

The proposed comprehensive HCOP will implement a pipeline of disadvantaged students, beginning in the elementary school and ending in graduation from health professions schools.  Students participating will be exposed to a variety of activities that are designed to develop their awareness of health careers, increase their motivation through career exploration, and strengthen their readiness and preparedness to pursue a pre-health curriculum in college.  The HCOP trained pre-health majors at ASU will be given preference for participation in the Biomedical Enrichment and Recruitment (BEAR) program at the University of South Alabama (USA), and those who successfully complete the BEAR program are offered admission to the medical school at the USA. 

The ASU, in collaboration with its partners, will implement a comprehensive HCOP program consisting of: a) activities at the elementary through high school level that will include health careers clubs, resource speaker presentations, mentoring, and after-school programs; b) junior high school activities will also include shadowing opportunities and a two-week summer science camp for 6th - 9th grade students; c) high school activities will include shadowing and internship opportunities and an eight-week summer science academy for 10th - 12th grade students; d) undergraduate level activities will include health careers club; health careers seminars; study and test-taking skills workshops; counseling; tutorial assistance; internship opportunities, and field trips; an eight-week summer science institute for freshman and sophomores that will include diagnostic testing, skills development in reading and communications, math, biology, chemistry, and physics; and a facilitating entry program for juniors and seniors that will include workshops on MCAT, AMCAS application preparation, financial aid, and interview techniques, shadowing, and exposure to biomedical research.

Miles College
Division of Natural Sciences
Osman Bannaga, DVM, MPH, PhD.
P.O. Box 3800
Birmingham, AL 35208
(205) 929-1529
FAX (205) 929-1550
obannaga@aol.com

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

Miles College is a historically black, four-year liberal arts institution, which has historically pursued a mission of providing education and training to minority students.  These minority students- a vast majority- come from disadvantaged economic and academic backgrounds.  The college has several programs that are specifically targeted to disadvantaged students.  The college has an enrollment of 1,595 students of which approximately 99 percent are African American and the remaining are white American, Hispanic and Asian. 

The college is committed to developing a more competitive pool of and preparing minority/disadvantaged students for health and allied health careers.  The comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) implements a pipeline of disadvantaged students, beginning in the elementary school and ending in graduation from health professions schools.  Participating students are exposed to a variety of activities that are designed to develop their awareness of health careers, increase their motivation through career exploration and strengthen their readiness and preparedness to pursue a pre-health curriculum in college. 

The HCOP trained pre-health majors at Miles College will participate in various health programs at the University of Alabama (UAB), which will improve the chance of the participating students to get accepted in the health career program.

Tuskegee University
College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health
Barbara Diffay, D.V.M.
Tuskegee, AL 36088
(334) 727-8027
FAX (334) 727-8177
diffay@tusk.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The Health Careers Opportunity Grant at Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health (CVMNAH), aims to increase the number of qualified students from disadvantaged backgrounds who enter and graduate from health professions programs, particularly Veterinary Medicine (VM), and Allied Health – Medical technology (MT) and Occupational Therapy (OT).  To develop a more competitive applicant pool CVMNAH has developed a pipeline from the middle school through professional school.

At the middle school level, CVMNAH will conduct an after school program and a 6-week summer program to help twenty-five seventh grade disadvantaged students begin to develop the skills needed to successfully enter in and graduate as health professionals.  The programs will feature hands on activities, problem solving activities, writing and mathematics skills through journal writing and analysis of data, verbal reasoning and reading comprehension of level-appropriate scientific articles. At the college level, recruitment activities and an intensive 8-week summer program for twenty-seven students that focuses on skills and science enrichment are designed to identify, select, and facilitate the entry of such students, particularly disadvantaged males, into the VM, MT and OT programs.  A minimum of ten pre-veterinary HCOP trainees who receive an evaluation of “Highly Recommended” from the HCOP program and who meet admissions requirements will be guaranteed admission to the veterinary program.  In addition to the above programs the CVMNAH HCOP will provide supportive post-admission activities for all students.

Alabama A&M University
Dr. Razi (Bobby Blockum) Hassan
P.O. Box 322
Normal, AL 35762
(256) 372-5928
FAX (256) 372-5321
rhassan@aamu.edu

Medical Professions Assistance Program

This comprehensive Medical Professions Assistance (MPA) Program represents a formal collaboration among Alabama A&M University (AAMU), the Huntsville City School district, three health professions schools, a two-year college, and three community-based entities with the capacity and commitment to: (1) build diversity in the health professions, and (2) develop a health professions workforce to serve the "medically underserved community" in Alabama. To meet these goals, the three-year Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) at AAMU is designed to assist students who are disadvantaged, and who express an interest in pursuing a health degree in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy enter and graduate from academic programs in these disciplines through partnership linkages with the following health professions schools:

University of Alabama School of Medicine
University of Alabama School of Dentistry
Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy

The program will recruit 200 students--100 from four middle schools and two high schools with a large population of students from educationally and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds - Davis Hills, Ed White, Stone, and Westlawn middle schools, Johnson and Butler high schools; and 100 from Calhoun Community College and Alabama A&M University. The program will provide structured and unstructured program activities that will include summer enrichment programs, professional test preparation classes, after-school programs, pre-medicine training, counseling, mentoring, dissemination of financial aid information, research training, and post-baccalaureate programs through formal agreements.

The broad goals of the MPA initiative are to (1) prepare students from disadvantaged backgrounds for health professions careers; (2) develop a larger, diverse, and more competitive applicant pool through partnerships with the local school district, other institutions of higher education, health professions schools, community-based entities, and faith-based organizations; and (3) develop a culturally competent health care workforce to serve the unserved and underserved residents in four Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) located in Lawrence, Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties -- the principal counties served by AAMU, Calhoun Community College, and Huntsville City Schools.

Alaska

University of Alaska Anchorage
Beth M. Landon, M.B.A., M.H.A.
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, AK  99508
(907) 786-6589
FAX (907) 786-6576
anbml@uaa.alaska.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The University of Alaska, the state’s only public institution of higher education, is composed of three regional university centers:  University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS).  The University of Alaska has consistently shown its commitment to recruiting, retaining, and helping disadvantaged students succeed in the education environment. 

The UAA objectives include: 1) Recruitment: At least 25 students will be recruited into the Alaska Behavioral Health Summer Institute.  Promotional materials will be provided to advising staff; 2) Facilitating Entry: 100 percent of Summer Institute students will increase their knowledge of UAA’s behavioral health academic programs and the steps to enroll in the programs; 3) Mentoring: 100 percent of Summer Institute students will receive at least weekly contact with a Peer Mentor.  Summer Institute graduates will have at least monthly contact with a Peer Mentor, through the School of Social Work; 4) Preliminary Education:  At the conclusion of the Summer Institute, 100 percent graduating students will demonstrate strengthened academic and job-seeking skills;

5) Financial Aid Information Dissemination:  At the conclusion of each rural high school recruitment workshop, 100 percent of the students will be able to identify at least one financial aid resource and/or one contact within Alaska where a student could find financial aid information; 6) Primary Care Exposure: All graduating Summer Institute students will spend a minimum of 75 hours at a total of three different field sites observing and participating with professionals in various community-based behavioral health agencies; 7) Development of a More Competitive Applicant Pool: By September 2005, a minimum of 50 percent of ABHCP graduates from the Summer Institutes will apply and be accepted into a behavioral health program within the University of Alaska’s system. The evaluation will consist of formative and summative evaluation of the processes and outcomes of the ABHC Program will be conducted in all three years of the grant.  The foundation for the evaluation of the HCOP grant project will be the Utilization Focused Evaluation Model which ensures that a continuous “feedback loop” is in place through all aspects of the evaluation and that the program accomplishes its objectives and improves throughout the grant period. 

Arizona

University of Arizona
Rural Health Office
Shelia Hill Parker, Dr.P.H.
2501 East Elm Street
Tucson, AZ  85716
(520) 321-7777  
FAX (520) 321-7763  
parkers@u.arizona.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

An insufficient supply and distribution of health professionals limits the access of U.S./Mexico border communities to medical care.  Personnel shortages are exacerbated by frequently observed cultural and language differences that separate health professionals from border Hispanic populations.  The epidemiologic profile of Arizona’s border communities compares poorly with non-border regions in almost every category.  The socioeconomic profile in the Arizona-Mexico border region reveals: widespread poverty; high levels of unemployment; low levels of formal education; and low levels of health insurance coverage.  Disadvantaged student recruitment is critical to the development of the region’s health care infrastructure.  The goals of the SAB-HCOP are to provide students from economically and academically disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to develop skills needed to compete successfully, to enter into and graduate from health professions programs of study.

Arizona is very diverse in terms of culture and demography.  The SAB-HCOP intervention is directed at four Arizona-Mexico border counties that include a large Hispanic population.  Each county includes a designated Health Professions Shortage Area (HPSA) and a socioeconomic profile that reveals widespread poverty, high unemployment, low levels of formal education, and a lack of health insurance.  Five educational barriers will be targeted by the SAB-HCOP:  (1) Graduates leaving high school with insufficient academic preparation to make them competitive for admission to the University, (2) Families lack the economic resources or sufficient financial aid information to envision health professional career opportunities, (3) Schools not providing consistent and comprehensive career counseling, (4) Significant cultural issues have not been addressed within higher education leading to poor retention and, (5) There is no pipeline connecting local schools and health care facilities with health professions training programs

Northern Arizona University
College of Health Professions
John P. Sciacca, Ph.D.
NAU Box 15095
Flagstaff, AZ  86011-1509
(928) 523-7029
FAX (928) 523-0148
John.Sciacca@nau.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

Northern Arizona University (NAU) has the third highest number of American Indian students of all colleges and universities in the United States.  Furthermore, more than 10 percent of NAU’s student body is Hispanic Americans.  NAU has exercised leadership in its commitment to diversity through a number of programs that assist in attaining a diverse student body.

In Arizona, American Indians and Hispanic Americans remain severely underrepresented in the health professions. The Arizona Statewide Comprehensive HCOP will more effectively prepare a pool of applicants to deliver culturally competent health care in the underserved areas of Arizona.  The College of Health Professions (CHP) at NAU offers programs in physical therapy, dental hygiene, speech pathology, audiology, and public health education.  Pre-medicine and pre-pharmacy programs are also offered at NAU and will work in partnership with the University of Arizona Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine.

This comprehensive HCOP represents a powerful collaboration among Arizona hospitals, K-12 schools and school districts, community health agencies, community and 4-year colleges, and university health programs.  The partners have entered into formal agreements for the purpose of providing educational programs to expand the knowledge, skills, cultural competence, and competitiveness of disadvantaged students to enter and graduate from health professions programs of study.

This comprehensive program targets elementary and middle school students for health careers education activities and high school students from throughout the state to participate in three summer academic enrichment programs.  The program also proposes to provide ongoing events and educational activities during the academic year to maintain contact with summer program participants, and involve parents and additional students in HCOP activities.  Other educational interventions target HCOP students in Arizona community colleges and the three state universities.  The goal of the program is to develop a cadre of Arizona students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are well prepared to enter and successfully graduate from Health Professions programs.

Arkansas

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Billy Thomas, MD
4301 West Markham, Slot 625
Little Rock, AR 72205

The College of Medicine (COM) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is committed to recruiting, preparing, retaining, and graduating students, particularly the disadvantaged students, to meet the medical needs of the state.  Arkansas has a large population of disadvantaged students.  The overall poverty rate consists of 16% of persons living below the 100% poverty level.  Nationally, Arkansas ranks 49^th in the percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher and 47^th in the percentage with a high school diploma or higher.

To address the educational disparity of disadvantaged Arkansans, the COM has established formal partnerships with other professional educators and community organizations to counsel, nurture, and enhance the training of students at all stages of the educational pipeline.  With funding provided by the HCOP grant, the UAMS COM and several partners will collaborate to develop a more competitive applicant pool and build diversity in all health professions.  Partners include Greater Friendship, Inc.; a community-based organization; Henderson Health Sciences Magnet Middle School and Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School; Pulaski Technical College, Philander Smith College, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and the UAMS Office Regional Programs.  Each partner will participate in summer programs and special seminars hosted by UAMS.

The overall goal is to recruit, prepare, and retain more disadvantaged students in the COM so that the number of minority physicians in Arkansas will more closely reflect the percentage of that population in the state.  This will be accomplished by establishing new programs and strengthening existing ones.  To achieve its overall goal of establishing diversity in health care, the COM will: (1) develop a more competitive applicant pool; (2) emphasize preliminary education and health research training; (3) establish primary care exposure activities; (4) improve recruitment of disadvantaged students; (5) provide financial aid information to targeted medical students; (6) facilitate entry into medical school; and (7) reduce the attrition rate of targeted medical students.  In addition to achieving these objectives, the COM will plan summer program activities to enhance the applicant’s academic profiles and tests scores, problem-solving abilities, study strategies, and management of stress and time.  Reduction in the attrition rate of medical students will be accomplished by implementing activities such as a pre-matriculation program, a Student National Medical Association “big brother/big sister” program, individualizing tutoring, academic and personal counseling, and review courses. 

Objective 2: Improve recruitment efforts directed toward disadvantaged students.  Increase the average (over 4 years) of targeted in-state COM applicants from 36 to 50 by 2002.  This growth is expected to increase the average number of targeted students matriculating into the COM from 8 students to 15 students by 2002.

Objective 3:  Facilitating entry into medical school.  Raising MCAT scores of targeted COM applicants from an average (over 4 years) of 7.03 to 8.5 by 2002 is expected to increase

California

University of California, San Diego
School of Medicine
Sandra P. Daley, M.D.
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0621
(858) 534-0764
FAX (858) 534-1513
Sdaleyal._csd.edu

San Diego HCOP Regional Consortium

The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (UCSD SOM) is committed to maintaining an educational pipeline for health and allied health professions preparation of Disadvantaged students. As a result, UCSD SOM has entered into a partnership with The San Diego State University Pre-College Institute (PCI), The San Diego Border Area Health Education Center (SD/AHEC), nine Community Colleges participating in the UCSD "UniversityLink" Transfer Student Guarantee Program and 14 of their "feeder" middle and high schools in inner city, border, east suburban and rural communities to establish the Health Careers Opportunity Program, San Diego Regional Consortium (HCOP/SDRC). In order to address each step in the educational pipeline, the partners will conduct eight middle and high school academic enrichment programs: Camp Scripps I and II, the Community Outreach Partnership Center, the Talent Search Explorers Program and the PCI High School Summer Residential Programs; the UniversityLink Medical Science Program, a summer residential program for community college students; the Student Support Services Program for first generation freshman and community college transfer students; the MCAT Prep Summer and Academic Year Programs; a Conditional Acceptance Post-baccalaureate Program; and a Pre-matriculation, Course Review and USMLE Prep for medical students. The goal of the partnership is to significantly increase the number of qualified educationally, socially and/or economically disadvantaged students from urban and rural areas that enter the region's health care work force. Objectives include: 1) developing a competitive applicant pool; 2) recruiting talented students for participation in academic enrichment and research training programs; and 3) providing career awareness and exposure to community-based primary health care services.

California State University - Los Angeles
Genaro A. Lopez, Ph.D.
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA  90032
(323) 343-2188
FAX (323) 343-5347
glopez@calstatela.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

California State University, Los Angeles, (Cal State LA) has a strong commitment to serve disadvantaged student populations and has engaged in programs consistent with the mission for decades.  A number of highly successful programs are in place to address the educational and economic deficits of the motivated, but disadvantaged students enrolled.  Until 2000, a successful Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) supplemented these programs.

The Cal State LA HCOP was highly successful at developing a more competitive applicant pool for the health professions degree program.  In 2000, 74 percent of the HCOP students applying to health professions programs were accepted vs. 46 percent non-HCOP Cal State LA students.  Most notably, the 1999 Cal State LA HCOP medical school acceptance rate was 79 percent.  The Cal State LA service area-urban east and south central LA- is a diverse community with several designated health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSA).  Promoting student entry into health/allied health careers to yield a culturally competent workforce is challenging because students are economically and educationally disadvantaged. 

The Cal State LA HCOP addresses the barriers that prevent students from becoming health/allied health professionals, with the placement of a Comprehensive HCOP at Cal State LA.  The goals are to create a more competitive pool of student applicants for health/allied health programs and maximize program acceptance and retention.  The revised program reflects the institutionalization of key activities, including a Health Careers Advisement Office.

University of California at San Francisco
School of Dentistry
Charles Alexander, Ph.D.
513 Parnassus Avenue, S630
San Francisco, CA  94143-0430
(415) 476-1323
FAX (415) 476-4226
Alexanderc@dentistry.ucsf.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The UCSF Dental Careers Program (UCSF-DCP) seeks to establish a comprehensive program that will provide career awareness and academic enrichment activities that will assist disadvantaged students to become competitive applicants for dental school.  The UCSF-DCP will be based at the UCSF School of Dentistry and will collaborate with three high schools, four universities, and one community based organization to carry out the objectives of this proposal.  Each educational partner has committed resources and staff to assist in the implementation and execution of the UCSF-DCP.  The UCSF-DCP will collaborate with each partner to provide: recruitment activities, preliminary education during the academic year and summer, financial aid information dissemination, facilitating entry activities, counseling, mentoring and other services to develop a more competitive applicant pool of students to enter and complete training in the field of dentistry.

The UCSF-DCP and its partners will address the HCOP Program Purposes through the following objectives:  (1) Stimulate the interest of 60 middle school students in science and health subjects so that their knowledge is increased about the field of dentistry and other health professions.  Assist 80 high school students at partnership high schools with career exploration and mentorship experiences.  Develop a competitive applicant pool that will generate 100 applications from disadvantaged/minority students each year so that at least 16 will enroll in the School of Dentistry,  (2a) Facilitate the entry of 15 minority/disadvantaged students into dental school via a Post-Bac program, (2b) Assist at least 70 disadvantaged students with facilitation services, (3) Provide personal and academic support to entering and enrolled dental students, (4a) Increase the academic potential of 40 disadvantaged high school students, (4b) Increase the entry potential of 40 disadvantaged undergraduates so that 80 percent will be accepted into dental school within three years.

Stanford University
School of Medicine
Ronald D. Garcia, Ph.D.
Medical School Office Building,
Suite 347 251 Campus Drive West
Palo Alto, CA  94304-5401
(650) 725-0403
FAX (650) 725-5538
Ron.garcia@stanford.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The overall purposes of Stanford’s Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunities Program (CHCOP) are to produce a diverse and culturally competent workforce by assisting disadvantaged students in attaining health careers and to increase the number of disadvantaged students entering and successfully completing medical schools and physician assistant programs. This will be accomplished through the development of the Santa Clara County educational pipeline and other regional and national activities. The CHCOP regional educational pipeline consists of a series of partnerships that span middle school, high school, community college, and four-year colleges and universities in Santa Clara County; the Gardner Health Center; and the Regional Health Educational Training Center in San Jose.  The Alum Rock School District, the largest in Northern California, is committed to a partnership with Stanford to sponsor educational and motivational activities of interest to middle school students in health careers. A bilingual and bicultural health educator coordinates the delivery of presentations regarding health careers, anatomy class/demonstrations with emphasis on science and math, and health promotion, tutors and tours to Stanford School of Medicine.

Andrew Hill Medical Magnet High School activities and services are organized around five key themes: academic preparation, motivation and self-concept, health career awareness, peer group formation, and family involvement. These activities will be coordinated by the Health Education Training Center.

The Stanford-San Jose State partnership will expand current resources and create new activities for disadvantaged students interested in the health professions. SJSU sponsors and links a number of major academic activities with existing programs, Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) chapters and the Alliance for Minority Participation Program (AMP). The Gardner Health Center in San Jose will provide clinical and mentorship activities for students in the pipeline. In addition to pipeline activities CHCOP sponsors other activities to expand the medical school/physicians assistants applicant pool, such as the sponsorship of regional and national recruitment conferences at Stanford.

Structured HCOP programs: 1) Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP) is a five week residential program designed to promote health careers to minority and disadvantaged high school students; 2) Stanford Summer HCOP Program offers preliminary education to 20 minority and disadvantaged college sophomores who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine; 3) Physician Assistant Program Summer HCOP Program (PASHP) is a pre-matriculation program designed to prepare disadvantaged students for successful completion of the Stanford Primary Care Associate Program through an early introduction to the curriculum and testing components of the program; 4) Leadership Development Program supports the development of health career clubs at undergraduate campuses.

Connecticut

University of Connecticut Health Center
Office of Health Care Opportunity Programs
School of Medicine
Boake L. Plessy, Ph.D.
Farmington, CT 06030
(860) 679-3483
FAX (860) 679-1875
plessy@nso1.uchc.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The University of Connecticut Health Center proposes a comprehensive program of activities implemented through a formal educational partnership, the Health Professions Partnership Initiative (HPPI), consisting of the University of Connecticut Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine, Central Connecticut State University, the University of Connecticut at Storm, Wesleyan University, the Hartford School District and the Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program (CPEP). CPEP is a community-based, urban-focused, career oriented educational enrichment program whose goal is to increase minority competitiveness for careers rooted in the sciences and mathematics. Consequently, the HPPI exceeds the minimum requirements for funding under the Health Careers Opportunity Program's comprehensive model. This partnership will develop strategies to increase the number of economically and educationally disadvantaged students in Connecticut who are interested in and prepared for careers in medicine, dental medicine and other health professions. A comprehensive program of educational enrichment and support activities has been designed and implemented by the partnership. Program elements currently focus on high school and college level students. At the high school level, the Initiative focuses on students who are part of the Health Professions Academies at 2 Hartford high schools and provides supplemental summer and Saturday educational experiences for students in the 9`s and 10`h grade level through "Jumpstart" and at the 11`s and 12th grade level through the Health Careers Discovery Program. Program strategies at the college level address two general initiatives: (1) the development of comprehensive summer programs designed to strengthen student interest and motivation for careers in the health professions and to enhance their academic ability to master the pre-medical curriculum and (2) the establishment of programs of academic and career advisement and mentoring within participating colleges assuring academic support throughout a student's college career.

District of Columbia

Howard University College of Pharmacy
Pedro J. Lecca, Ph.D.
Annex II, Sixth and Bryant Street, N.W.
Washington, DC  20059
(202) 806-5431
FAX (202) 234-1375
plecca@howard.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

Howard University is a private coeducational institution of higher learning, which was founded by and act of Congress on March 2, 1867.  It is the nation’s largest comprehensive, predominantly African-American University.  About 11,000 students are enrolled in the 12 schools and colleges that offer degree programs in more than 150 specialized subjects.  The mission of Howard University is to provide educational opportunities for African-Americans and others who may be deemed disadvantaged and who may not otherwise have the opportunity for a quality education.  It is the only HBCU in the nation that provides health professions training in a true academic health science center comprised of the traditional basic health professions-medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and allied health sciences.  The College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences was established in 1997.

To address the problem of under-representation of minorities in the health professions, Howard University Health Careers Opportunity Program will develop and implement a comprehensive program directed towards preparing disadvantaged students for entry, successful performance in, and graduation from a health profession school.  The project will involve partnerships among District of Columbia (DC) area high schools, local community colleges, feeder HBCU institutions and School of Pharmacy and Division of Allied Health at Howard University.  The proposed objectives of the project include: (1) Recruitment:  To increase the number of viable/competitive minority student applicants annually from DC high schools, community college associate degree graduates, and HBCU feeder institution students entering the pre-pharmacy, pre-allied health programs; (2) Facilitating Entry:  To improve the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of targeted pre-health DC public high school students seeking entry into a pre-pharmacy or allied health science program by 15 percent from 814 to 936; increase the average composite Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) from 17 percentile to over 50 percentile; (3) Counseling and Mentoring:  To improve the counseling, mentoring and other related services for DC public high school students and other Howard students in the pre-pharmacy and allied health sciences; (4) Preliminary Education and Health Care Research Training:  To improve the academic competence of all targeted summer program participants by increasing their relevant levels in mathematics, science, communication and study skills and level of knowledge in research methods by 25 percent; (5) Financial Aid/Information Dissemination:  To increase awareness and provide detailed knowledge regarding financial aid, for high school participants’ parents and college students; (6) Primary Care Exposure Activities:  To increase the cultural awareness and sensitivity and awareness of primary care issues of 75 percent of summer program participants entering the professional phase of pharmacy and allied health science programs; (7) Development of  a More Competitive Applicant Pool:  To increase the number of viable students applying to pharmacy and allied health science pre-professional and professional programs by 25 percent through enhancing and developing a more efficient and effective partnership with our current partners.

University of the District of Columbia
Eugene M. Wiggins, M.S.
Carolyn Cousin, Ph.D.
4200 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20008
(202) 274-6162
(202) 274-5874
FAX (202) 274-6350
mewigs1036@aol.com and c.cousins@erols.com

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The UDC HCOP will utilize numerous linked partners to achieve the objectives stated in the proposal.  The linked partners will include Coolidge, Easter, N.M. Washington and Wilson high schools, five pre-college programs located at UDC and Trinity College, several community organizations, professional organizations, and several health care facilities.  Recruitment: Recruitment strategies will focus on high school seniors (enrolled in the four targeted senior high schools and the five pre-college programs) and UDC freshmen that have not declared a major.  The applicant pool will be composed of 500 seniors from the four targeted senior high schools, five pre-college programs and incoming freshmen undeclared majors.  Of the 500 students identified, 75 disadvantaged students will be invited to apply to UDC (open admission university) with a declared major in one of the allied health programs.  During the three years of the grant, there will be a total of 75 students in HCOP each year.  The initial recruitment process will take place during year one; Facilitating Entry: The activities to be implemented to facilitate entry will include a Pre-HCOP Workshop/Reception, the Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), placement testing, the final interview and Recruitment Committee’s final deliberation and selection of students.

Counseling, Mentoring and other Sources: After the SEP, students will begin their program of study for the academic year.  These programs will consist of college-wide requirements (general college courses) and courses specific to the individual disciplines.  The HCOP staff will provide academic reinforcement and retention activities (including academic skills training, advisement, counseling, tutoring, and mentoring).  These activities will begin when students enter the degree programs, and continue until they graduate from their specific allied health programs; Financial Aid/Information Dissemination: Prior to submitting an application to SEP/HCOP, students will be given information on financial support such as scholarships, fellowships and encouraged to apply. 

Also, they will be given assistance in completing financial aid applications.  The Office of the Provost, private foundations, and external grants will be sources for funds to provide financial assistance for HCOP students; Primary Care Exposure Activities and Development of a Competitive Applicant Pool: Students will expand their allied health training experiences through shadowing, observations and internships with allied health professionals at several local hospitals and the UDC Speech and Hearing Clinic.  HCOP will work with an external professional evaluator, who will be selected by the HCOP co-directors.

Florida

Bethune-Cookman College
Herbert W. Thompson, Ph.D.
640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd.
Daytona Beach, Florida 32114-3099
(386) 481-2672
FAX (386) 481-2681
thompsoh@cookman.edu

Bethune-Cookman College Health Careen Opportunity Program

The need for minority health care professionals on the national level is reflected in the low numbers of minority health care professionals (especially African American health care professionals) in the tri-county area immediately surrounding Bethune-Cookman College. The Bethune-Cookman Health Careers Opportunity Program (BCC-HCOP) and its partner institutions, will address this need by providing preliminary education, career counseling, tutoring, and other opportunities for facilitated entry into health profession schools to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program will seek and encourage students interested in the areas of medicine, dentistry, medical technology, physical therapy, pharmacy, and gerontology. To increase the pool of applicants for health careers, the program will work with high school and college students, making them aware of health careers and encouraging them to begin their preparation earlier.

Each summer 30 high school students (grades 10-12) and 30 recent high school graduates will participate in programs to provide academic preparation as well as opportunities to interact with health care professionals. During the school year health clubs will be established at three area high schools for activities which will motivate them to pursue health careers. College students will participate in retention activities, test preparation, field trips and job shadowing.

By stimulating their interest in the health professions as early as possible, the program will enable many of these students to become viable candidates for college and health career training. In order to reach these goals, the project will address the following legislative purposes: Recruitment, Facilitated Entry, Counseling/Mentoring, Preliminary Education & Health Research Training, Financial Aid Information Dissemination, Primary Care Exposure Activities, and Development of a More Competitive Applicant Pool.

Bethune-Cookman College has formed partnerships with the following organizations to fulfill the need for minority health care professionals: Halifax Community Health System, University of Miami School of Medicine, University of South Florida School of Medicine, Mainland and Atlantic High Schools, Bethune-Cookman College Department of Gerontology and Department of Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology.

Florida International University
College of Health Sciences
Susan Himburg, Ph.D.
University Park, CH201
Miami, FL  33199
(305) 348-3233
FAX (305) 348-1996   
himburgs@fiu.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The purpose of the Health Sciences Recruitment and Retention Program is to maintain adequate numbers of qualified Hispanics and African Americans applying for admission to the allied health programs in the College of Health, and to admit, retain and graduate greater numbers of these students.  The allied health disciplines addressed by the project include dietetics, medical laboratory science, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.  The HCOP purposes supported by the grant include recruitment, facilitating-entry and retention.  

Project activities include general recruitment which emphasizes the identification of high school students through dissemination of brochures by health science faculty, advisory committee members and minority professionals during recruitment visits to schools, career fairs and through mailings to prospective students interested in allied health careers.  A focused recruitment activity comprised of a one-day Health Jamboree provides opportunities for high school students to interact with faculty and enrolled students in the College of Health.  A six-week summer course is offered to high school seniors and college freshmen that are interested in exploring careers in the allied health professions.  This course provides hands-on experience in a laboratory setting and opportunities to observe health professionals in their work settings.  This course, also, familiarizes students with college level research, provides and introduction to medical terminology, enhances computer skills and improves mathematics skills.  A six-week non-credit summer course is offered to ten Hispanic and African American students who have received acceptances to professional-level allied health programs.  The course is designed to improve reading, writing and study skills, as well as, providing an overview of first-year courses in anatomy for occupational therapy and physical therapy students, biochemistry for dietetics students, and clinical microbiology and chemistry for medical laboratory science students.  In addition, students will receive orientation to College services, their respective departments and faculty.  Retention services include tutorials and counseling and will be offered while students are enrolled in professional-level courses.

University of Miami School of Medicine
Astrid Mack, Ph.D.
P.O. Box 016960 (R128)
Miami, Florida 33101
(305) 243-5998
Fax:  (305) 243-2938
amack@med.miami.edu

The Miami Model for Health professions Education was designed to increase the applicant pool so as to build diversity in the health and allied health professions.  Its goal is to provide students from disadvantaged backgrounds as opportunity to develop the skills needed to successfully compete for admissions to and graduation from allied and health professions schools, especially medicine.  To meet this goal, we have identified some of the major barriers confronting disadvantaged students and through partnership agreements with the local school district, the School of Arts and Sciences and Medicine at the University of Miami and several community-based partners, along with local, regional, and state institutions of higher learning, a sequence of programs are offered that will enable more disadvantaged students to progress from one stage of the pipeline to the next.  To tow existent facilitating entry and several preliminary education training programs, we propose the resumption of tow preliminary education and one health research training programs:  Summer Science Education Program (SSEP) which transitions to the Saturday Science Academy Program (STIR) for 11^th grade students; and the Careers in Medicine Workshop for 12^th graders.  The comprehensive approach is extended to the professional school level with the inclusion of academic enrichment activities and continuation of standardized test taking strategies for 1^st and 2^nd year UMSM medical students.  Additionally, other HCOP Program Purposes activities in Recruitment; Counseling, Mentoring, and Other Services; Financial Aid Information Dissemination; Primary Care Exposure Activities; Development of a More Competitive Applicant Pool, as well as Cultural Competence Development activities for all levels of participants in pipeline programs are included.  Objectives, Methodology, Evaluation measures are presented for each activity, along with a comprehensive Evaluation plan.

Florida A & M University
School of Allied Health Sciences
Cynthia Hughes Harris, Ph.D.
103 Ware-Rhaney Bldg.
Tallahassee, FL 32307-3500
(850) 599-3818 
FAX (850) 561-2502
cindy.hughesharris@famu.edu 

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

A continuation of the previously funded Comprehensive Allied Health Careers Opportunity Program (AHCOP) is proposed for the School of Allied Health Sciences (SOAHS) at Florida A&M University (FAMU).  The SOAHS offers five degree programs: Cardiopulmonary Science; Health Sciences; Health Care Management; Health Information Management; Occupational Therapy; and Physical Therapy. 

AHCOP funding has been provided the SOAHS for the past 18 years, with remarkably successful outcomes.  From 1984-1998, AHCOP activities targeted only college level students.  Beginning in 1999, a Comprehensive AHCOP was funded, designed to expand the scope of our program to include high school students and college students.  This highly successful Comprehensive AHCOP has completed its third year of implementation.  By combining federal funds requested in this proposal with in-kind and dollar contributions from FAMU and other public and private sources, the SOAHS will carry out AHCOP activities that address all seven HCOP Program Purposes. 

The objectives of AHCOP are: (1) to aid in the retention and graduation of 90 percent of college level AHCOP program participants; (2) to facilitate the entry of 30 eligible college students into allied health professions schools; and (3) to provide preliminary education experiences for fifty 9th/10th grade high school students in twelve Saturday Academy Programs and provide intensive preliminary education experiences for 30 of these students during Summer Institutes.  These objectives will be achieved primarily through the delivery of two Summer Institute Programs and two year-round programs. 

Miami-Dade Community College
Medical Center Campus
Carol Miller, Ed.D.
950 NW 20th St.
Miami, FL 33127-4693
(305) 237-4031
FAX (305) 237-4278
millec@mdcc.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

This project addresses the need to provide economically and educationally disadvantaged students with opportunities to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in the health field.  It also aims to meet one of the objectives outlined in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publication Healthy People 2000, which cites the need “to increase the proportion of all degrees in the health professions and allied and associated health profession fields awarded to members of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups.”

The Miami-Dade Community College HCOP is a five-year initiative designed to motivate and prepare educationally disadvantaged students throughout Miami-Dade County to enter and graduate from an allied health professions program.  The project furthers the purposes of the national workforce goals by developing a more competitive applicant pool and ensuring that the composition of the health care workforce is generally representative of the local population.  Currently, Miami-Dade County has 14 HRSA-designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for primary medical care.

Project Promote will target students throughout the educational pipeline beginning at the middle school level and continuing through completion of the associate degree.  The project partners include the School of Allied Health Technologies, Miami-Dade Community College, two county high schools, two county middle schools all within the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and the Dade County Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program, Inc, a community-based entity.  Partner members will collaborate on providing recruitment, preliminary education during summer and academic year, facilitating entry activities, counseling, mentoring, financial aid information, and other services to develop a more competitive and representative applicant pool.  The School of Allied Health Technologies will provide for primary care exposure, case studies, and training programs that include cultural competence training.  Activities at the secondary and undergraduate levels will also include parental involvement seminars, enhancement of reading comprehension skills, critical thinking, and shadowing.

The College will implement a comprehensive approach that incorporates a network of formally linked partners working in a coordinated effort over a five-year period. Working together, these linked entities will address the problems and barriers that prevent disadvantaged students from being competitive in meeting admission requirements for allied health programs.

University of Miami
School of Medicine
Astrid K. Mack, Ph.D.
PO Box 016960 (R128)
Miami, FL  33101
(305) 243-5998
FAX (305) 243-2938
amack@med.miami.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The Miami Model for Health Professions Education was designed to increase the applicant pool so as to build diversity in the health and allied health professions.  Its goal is to provide students from disadvantage backgrounds an opportunity to develop the skills needed to successfully compete for admission to and graduation from allied and health professions schools, especially medicine.  To meet this goal, we have identified some of the major barriers confronting disadvantaged students and through partnership agreements with the local school district, the schools of Arts and Sciences and Medicine at University of Miami, and several community-based partners, along with local, regional, and state institutions of higher learning, a sequence of programs are offered that will enable more disadvantaged students to progress from one stage of the pipeline to the next. 

To two existent facilitating entry and several preliminary education programs, we propose the resumption of two preliminary education and one health research training programs: Summer Science Education Program (SSEP) which transitions to the Saturday Science Academy Program (SSAP) the following academic year for 10th graders; the Science Training In Research (STIR) for 11th grade students; and the Careers in Medicine Workshop for 12th graders.  The comprehensive approach is extended to the professional school level with the inclusion of academic enrichment activities and continuation of standardized test taking strategies for 1st and 2nd year UMSM medical students.  Additionally, other HCOP Program Purpose activities in Recruitment; Counseling, Mentoring and Other Services: Financial Aid Information Dissemination; Primary Care Exposure Activities; Development of a More Competitive Applicant Pool, as well as Cultural Competence Development activities for all levels of participants in pipeline programs are included.  Objective, Methodology, Evaluation measures are presented for each activity, along with a comprehensive Evaluation plan. 

Georgia

Albany State University
Granville E. Wrensford, Ph.D.
504 College Drive
Albany, Georgia 31705
(229) 430-4831
FAX (229) 420-1094
granville.wrensford.@asurams.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program at Albany State University

The proposed Health Careers Opportunity Program at Albany State University will serve a population that is economically and educationally disadvantaged and underrepresented in the health professions. The project involves collaboration between two hospitals, a pharmaceutical company, the four medical schools in Georgia (Emory, Morehouse, Mercer and the Medical College of Georgia), Meharry Medical College, the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee University, the local school district and two non-profit organizations. The proposal seeks to provide opportunities and resources to help in the development of a more competitive applicant pool that will enter, and graduate from a health profession school. This development will be accomplished through activities aimed at recruitment, preliminary education, facilitation of entry, counseling, mentoring and other services, primary care exposure and financial aid information dissemination. These activities will focus on the establishment of an educational pipeline targeting middle and high school students, entering university freshmen and university students. Activities include two summer residential programs; one for entering freshmen (Summer Enrichment Program) and the other (Junior Enrichment Program) for university junior and senior students who are interested in pursuing a health career. Enrichment activities include health club meetings at the middle and high schools, as well as mentoring, tutoring, test taking skills, critical thinking and cultural competency workshops. Enrichment activities will be conducted throughout the academic year for all participants.

To implement the Health Careers Opportunity Program at Albany State University funds are requested to supplement existing programs of pre-professional preparation, aimed at eliminating insurmountable perceived barriers from economically and academically disadvantaged under-represented populations in the pursuit of a health career. The university and its partners will contribute significant in-kind resources to ensure the project is a success.

Hawaii

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Doris M. Ching, Ed.D
2444 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI  96822
(808) 956-3466
FAX (808) 956-3472
ching@hawaii.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The goal of this project is to recruit and select high school and college students from Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau) who will enter and graduate from health and allied health professions schools and return to serve their home communities as health professionals. By partnering with 16 institutions of higher education, high schools, and community-based organizations the educational pipeline will be utilized to enhance the academic preparedness of disadvantaged individuals going into health and allied health professions.

Each year the program will have an 11-month program at four high schools for 40 9th graders. Activities will include health careers clubs, field trips, resource speaker presentations, shadowing and mentoring academic and guidance/support counseling, High School Saturday Health Careers Academy, and a 6-week Summer Health Careers Program.  There will also be an 11-month program at UH Manoa for 35 freshmen and community college transfer students.  These activities will include a pre-freshmen bridging program (high school to college), seminars, workshops, lectures, tutorials, health professions careers club, field trips, resource speaker presentations, shadowing and mentoring, 6-week summer Health Careers residential program at UH Manoa, and academic and guidance/support counseling. 

Beginning in Year 02 of the program, a 12-month post-baccalaureate program will be in place at the School of Medicine.  Activities for 10 post-baccalaureate students will include, but not limited to, academic assessments, medical ethics cultural competence sessions, research projects, and community medicine with former HCOP physicians.  There will also be a retention program for 20 Masters in Social Work students with activities including research methods, research writing, academic advising, tutorials, health and mental health field placements, student support groups, guidance and support counseling and mentoring. Financial aid/information dissemination workshops with high school students and parents, college students and graduate students also will occur each year of the program.  The students will also have primary care exposure with activities including shadowing, mentoring and volunteer activities at community-based healthcare facilities. 

Illinois

Southern Illinois University
School of Medicine
Harold R. Bardo, Ph.D.
957 South Normal Avenue, Room 210
Carbondale, IL 62901-4323
(618) 453-1560
FAX (618) 453-1919
medrep@siumed.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine was established in 1969 to help meet the health care needs of people in central and southern Illinois, a rural and medically under-served area.  The School of medicine encompasses a complete sequence of medical education programs beginning with the post-baccalaureate Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP) and progressing through medical school, residency programs, and continuing medical education for practicing physicians.  MEDPREP proposes to extend educational activities downward through the educational pipeline to encourage disadvantaged and underrepresented students in high school and middle school to prepare for health professional careers.

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) has a tradition of strong commitment to both undergraduate and graduate teaching.  Enrollment data at SIUC for fall semester 1998 indicate that 18.2 percent of the campus population could be classified as underrepresented students.  Additionally, 27 of the 74 entering medical students (36 percent) in 1998 are classified as disadvantaged due to economic or family reasons.

This comprehensive project will extend MEDPREP’S partnership with additional high school and middle school students allowing MEDPREP to successfully continue to increase the numbers in the health professional school applicant pool.

In developing a more competitive applicant pool, MEDPREP post-baccalaureate students will assist with outreach programs to several partner agencies: 70 percent of partnership test preparation workshop participants will achieve ACT/SAT or MCAT standardized test scores equivalent to the national mean for their ethnic group; 60 percent of middle school Science on Saturday participants will increase their science/math course grades by one letter; and 80 percent of MEDPREP partnership disadvantaged participants, through health career awareness activities such as a summer residential program and an expanded Medical Explorers program, will achieve significantly higher career development inventory pre/post-test scores.

Preliminary education and health research training will be provided through a summer research apprenticeship.  East St. Louis and Carbondale area high school students will gain exposure to health research by completing a 6-week project in an SIU School of Medicine laboratory.

University of Illinois at Chicago
School of Public Health
Shaffdeen A. Amuwo, Ph.D.
2121 West Taylor, Room 211A
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 996-5955
FAX (312) 996-1374
amuwo@uic.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health (UIC-SPH), in collaboration with the Chicago State University has implemented a comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program (CHOP). The program increases the pool and the competitiveness of disadvantaged individuals (from Health Professional Shortage Areas of Illinois) that are enrolled, retained and graduated from professional/ graduate degrees in public health.  Furthermore, it will increase the percentage of disadvantaged individuals that enter into practice in underserved areas of Illinois by 10 percent annually. 

Disadvantaged communities have a very small number of credentialed public health professionals and many public health jobs go unfilled.  This is due to a lack of visibility of public health and low quality education.  In order to address this, the UIC SPH has singed affiliation agreements with over ten entities and have already developed special programs aimed widely increasing the pool and competitiveness of applicants.  Annually, UIC-SPH will implement recruitment, preliminary education, research training, mentoring, counseling, entry facilitation and retention strategies that are aimed at middle/high school, college and admitted/public health students.  Furthermore, the HCOP will implement cultural competence programs aimed at teachers and counselors and provide information about financial aid to every participant.

University of Illinois at Chicago
College of Medicine
Michael D. Bailie, M.D.
151 College of Medicine West
1819 West Polk Street
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 996-4493
FAX (312) 996-3548
jorgeg@uic.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The Comprehensive Urban Health Program brings together under one partnership several institutions, agencies and programs that, in their own right, have made significant strides in improving the access of disadvantaged students to health and biomedical careers.  The Comprehensive program is far-reaching, both geographically, and in terms of targeted populations.  The major population areas in Illinois are included here; also, the partners reach out to all groups considered financially and/or economically disadvantaged throughout the metropolitan and downstate areas.  The ultimate goal is not only to increase enrollment of these students in health professions programs, but also to educate them for service in communities that presently lack adequate access to health care services.

To meet the seven HCOP Purposes, this grant program will offer a:  HCOP Club; HCOP Summer Academy; Prep for MD Summer Program; MCAT Prep Course; Summer Academic Enrichment Program; Summer Prematriculation Program; Post-Baccalaureate Admissions Program; Academic Assistance Program; Pharm Preview; Review Course for First-Time Takers of the USMLE-Step 1.

Kansas

University of Kansas Medical Center
Iral D. Porter, M.B.A.
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, KS 66170-7702
(913)-588-1236
FAX (913) 588-1399
iporter@kumc.edu

KUMC Health Careers Pathways Program K-20 Pipeline

The ultimate success of the KUMC Health Careers Pathways Program K-20 pipeline must relate to our goal to increase the number of health care professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds in Kansas and the Greater Kansas City area. Successful progression of disadvantaged students through each level of the educational pathway will determine interim achievement. The number who are admitted to, enrolled in and graduate from the School of Medicine will be the ultimate determinant of achievement.

Thirteen objectives and activities are designed to achieve this goal. Recruitment activities include: 1) an organic gardening project incorporated in the curriculum at our eight target schools and video technology and environmental extended-day projects for 1,350 4th - 8th grade students; 2) two 20-week Middle and High School Math and Science Saturday Academies at KCKCC for 85 7th -9th grade students; 3) extended day programs for 9th- 12th grade students in biomedical technology, youth leadership development, and clinical skills observation; 4) an eight-week residential Summer Science Academy at KU- Lawrence for 45 10th-12th grade students; 5) Satellite Centers at four undergraduate institutions providing an array of academic year programs; 6) two eight-week preliminary education programs (HSEI I and II) for college freshmen and sophomores; 7) a facilitating entry program for college juniors and seniors; and 8) a post-baccalaureate program for 10 students with guaranteed admission upon successful completion. Retention activities include: 1) an eight-week prematriculation program and 2) a two day post admissions/pre-matriculation workshop, interactive group learning sessions (IGLS), tutorials, two professional development workshops, USMLE I and II Board preparation, academic and personal counseling, a study center and a resource center.

The Health Careers Pathways Program has implemented a coordinated, longitudinal curriculum to provide K-20 (elementary -medical school) students, residents and faculty with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to care for a culturally and ethnically diverse patient population.

Kentucky

University of Kentucky
James C. Norton, Ph.D.
202 Health Sciences Learning Center
Lexington, KY 40536-0232
(859) 323-8018
FAX (859) 323-1043
jnorton@nop.ukv.edu

University of Kentucky Health Careers Opportunity Program

This proposal will establish the University of Kentucky Health Careers Opportunity Program (UKHCOP) with the purpose of increasing the number of disadvantaged and underrepresented students who successfully pursue educational programs and careers in the health professions. In partnership with the University of Kentucky Area Health Education Center Program (AHEC) and its affiliated Health Education Training Center Program (HETC), this will be a comprehensive initiative that includes four colleges at the University of Kentucky (Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmacy), four regional Centers that form part of the UK AHEC Program, community partnerships and commitment from local school districts. Activities focusing on cultural competence will be integrated at all levels as program objectives are developed. The Program will develop activities to build diversity in the health professions, address identified risk factors for school failure, explore ways to narrow achievement gaps and assure students in the program remain in the educational pipeline. The program and its activities will be developed around the seven core objectives of the federal HCOP initiative.

The UKHCOP program will develop support services and activities that provide coordinated and longitudinal experiences to enable students to advance throughout their academic pathway. Activities will occur in 12 of Kentucky's most rural and underserved counties in eastern Kentucky and two urban counties with large Hispanic and African American populations. Activities will be developed through a strong regional AHEC network that includes an urban AHEC that works to address the needs of underserved and disadvantaged populations, specifically African American and Hispanic.

The requested funds will enable the University of Kentucky to expand existing programs of pre-professional preparation, broaden services for students with economic and academic disadvantages and implement innovative programs to stimulate and encourage students to enter the health professions. Through strong partnerships with schools and communities that serve large numbers of disadvantaged and underrepresented students, these funds will enable the Program to identify students who have less access to opportunities to advance through the educational pipeline leading to health careers.

Eastern Kentucky University
College of Health Sciences
Patsy Daugherty, Ed.D.
521 Lancaster Ave, Rowlett 310
Richmond, KY  40475-3100
(859) 622-2091
FAX (859) 622-1140
patsy.daugherty@eku.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

The purpose of the Health Careers Opportunity Program at Eastern Kentucky University is to respond to the acute health needs in rural, Appalachian counties of eastern Kentucky.  The U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care identifies 48 of these 49 rural counties as Health Profession Shortage Areas and/or Medically Underserved Areas.  Students from this area are the target population for EKU/HCOP and are identified as economically and/or educationally disadvantaged.  Twenty-six percent of the population in this area live below poverty.  Forty-six percent of freshman at EKU are under prepared for college as evidenced by ACT scores.  It is proven from previous HCOP experience that students from this area do return to provide health care. 

Eastern Kentucky University, College of Health Sciences is most interested in developing a culturally sensitive healthcare workforce that will serve the unserved and underserved populations in Appalachia Kentucky.  Intervention strategies of EKU/HCOP begin by forming strong partnerships with elementary middle, and high schools as well as area health education centers to develop a large applicant pool of students interested in majoring in a health profession.  Further partnerships will be formed with medical facilities and undergraduate colleges that will strengthen the primary health care exposure of graduating EKU/ HCOP participants.  Aggressive recruitment strategies will bring students from economically and/or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to college to major in health sciences.  These students will be assisted with a summer enhancement program to help prepare them for the first-year experience, counseling services, supplemental instruction, mock interviews, and medical and graduate entrance exams prep courses.  Students are carefully tracked through the entire educational pathway and given further advising and/or mentoring as needed.  Students can major in any one of the 21 allied health and pre-professional programs, and through the efforts of EKU/ HCOP receive assistance to graduate and return to their communities to provide health care.

Louisiana

Louisiana State University
School of Medicine
Edward G. Helm, MD, MHA
1901 Perdido Street, Suite 3101, Box P3-2
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112-1393
(504) 568-8501
FAX (504) 568-6319
ehelm@lsumc.edu

LSU School of Medicine — New Orleans (In Roads) HCOP Program

The proposed InRoads program aims to meet the needs of the Louisiana disadvantaged population by increasing the science awareness and preparation of disadvantaged students and by ultimately increasing the pool of minority health professionals to care for a disadvantaged patient population. LSUHSC has a mission and long history of commitment to the indigent and disadvantaged. This commitment continues through the activities of the Office of Community and Minority Health Education (CHME), the prominent position of the Associate Dean of Community and Minority Health Education, [i.e. voting member of Admissions, Promotions, and Disadvantaged Scholarship Committees, as well as Professor of Clinical Surgery], and the inkind contributions and faculty support of the LSUHSC. In summary, CHME goals are to meet all 7 HCOP purposes. LSUMC will totally support the Recruitment and Financial Aid Information and Scholarship objectives of reaching 300 K-12 students and 250 college students. CHME aims to provide Preliminary Education to developing the academic preparedness of 150 high school and 30 middle school students; Facilitate the Entry of 100 college students, including 80 students in MCAT Review, and 25 accepted LSUSOM medical students; and provide personal and academic counseling and retention services to maintain our 95% retention rate and 80% USMLE pass rate for minority and disadvantaged students. We will also enhance cultural competence via cultural competence awareness programs and workshops, community based primary care preceptorships for 90% of the disadvantaged medical students, and a website on minority health and cultural issues. We will meet these needs through structured and unstructured activities; further, CHME has formal educational agreements and partnerships with the New Orleans Public Schools, Dillard University, Southern University, Xavier University, New Orleans Medical Association, all LSUHSC Health Professions Schools, New Orleans Health Department, St. Thomas Clinic, and AHEC. Programmatic activities include: High School Science Clubs, Career and Competition Days for K-12, after-school program for middle school students, Summer Science Research Programs for high school (SSP) and middle school (Jr.SSP) students; applicant counseling, MCAT Reviews for college students; and counseling, academic support, USMLE Review, and Residency Counseling for LSU medical students, Cultural Competency Workshops, Community Based Primary Care Preceptorships, Mentorship Program, and Minority Health and Cultural Sensitivity Website. Evaluative measures using qualitative and formulaic quantitative methods will assess our effectiveness.

Louisiana State University Medical Center - Shreveport
Shirley M. Roberson, M.S.
1501 Kings Highway, PO Box 33932
Shreveport, LA 71130-3932
(318) 675-5050
FAX (318) 675-4332
srober1@lsuhsc.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

Louisiana State University Medical Center at Shreveport (LSUMC-S) is one of three medical schools located in the state and the only medical school located in north Louisiana.  In 1963, the Shreveport Medical Society appointed an ad hoc committee to study the need for the development of a medical school in Shreveport.  The findings of this group demonstrated the need for a new teaching facility in Shreveport.  The LSUMC-S was established by an Act of the Louisiana Legislature in June 1965 and became a component of the Louisiana State University System.  The LSUMC-S hospital has 650 teaching beds, as well as 16 specialty and subspecialty outpatient clinics where students train.  Since its establishment, the medical center continues to be a major health care provider for the African American, Hispanic, and other disadvantaged citizens of Shreveport and surrounding areas. Sixty-four percent of the patients treated at LSUMC-S are African Americans; 2 percent Hispanics; 1 percent Asians; 32 percent Whites and 1 percent others.  Louisiana has a total of 9,976 practicing physicians, of which 500, or 5 percent are African Americans.  According to a recent census report African Americans and Hispanic American citizens constitute 35 percent of the population of Louisiana (33 percent African American and 2 percent Hispanic American).

The LSUMC-S proposes a comprehensive approach through its Partnerships in Science Education Pipeline” program.  To demonstrate its commitment to increase the enrollment of minority/disadvantaged students, LSUMC-S has forged partnership linkages in the form of contractual or articulation agreements with the Caddo Parish School System, the Sci-Port Discovery Center, the Biomedical Research Foundation and Louisiana State University Shreveport.  This comprehensive strategy encompasses the following strategies: 1) development of a science pipeline for K-16 that provides supplemental summer enrichment programs or research activities to pre-college/college students; thereby, creating a larger applicant pool of well-prepared students for entry into medical school or health care careers; 2) Utilization of an established network of science teachers, pre-medical advisors and biology faculty to assist in the identification and selection of minority/disadvantaged students, grades K-16, who possess an aptitude for science or an interest in medicine as program participants; 3) LSUMC-S faculty, medical students and teachers will be utilized as academic, career, and financial aid counselors who will distribute grade and age appropriate program information; 4) Twenty-five disadvantaged students at the undergraduate level will be selected to participate in the Educational Familiarization Program which offers MCAT prep courses utilizing Cambridge materials; 5) Fifteen incoming minority/disadvantaged students will be selected to participate in a Pre-Matriculation program which offers courses in Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, and Study Skills.  The academic progress of these students will be monitored throughout the first and second year to determine the effectiveness of this intervention.

Maryland

Morgan State University
Santosh K. Mandal, Ph.D.
1700 E. Cold-Spring Lane
Baltimore; Maryland 21251
(443) 885-1665
FAX (443) 885-8286
smandal@morgan.edu

Health Careers Opportunity Program

Our nation has approximately a total population of 290.8 million as of July 1, 2003, according to estimates released on December 20, 2003 by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau (source: http://www.census.gov) and African Americans comprise 13 percent of the total population. Minority professionals are underrepresented in the nation. Less than 10 percent of the physicians are minorities and 1.9 percent are black. Our nation badly needs a workforce that is both diverse and reflective of our society as a whole. The average scores of the African American students on MCAT, DAT, PCAT, SAT, ACT, and other standardized examinations are lower than the average scores of any other community. To reverse this trend a minority pool of potential students has to be identified and trained in the sciences and mathematics, English, test-taking skills, and other skills in order to increase their average scores to facilitate entry into health and allied health professional schools.

There are four objectives of the MSU's Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) project: (i) To develop a more competitive applicant pool by partnering with Baltimore City Public schools and our cooperating organizations to identify, select, and enroll 30 middle school and 30 high school educationally or economically disadvantaged minority students from a potential pool of over 240 students for a 36-week academic year tutoring and a 6-week summer science academy. At least 90% (27) will graduate from high school by year six and enroll in a pre-health curriculum at any undergraduate school over the 6-year period. (ii) To identify, select, and enroll each year 30 educationally or economically disadvantaged minority college freshmen and sophomores (15 in Level I and 15 in Level II) from a potential pool of over 200 students, who have commitments to pursuing careers in health professions, for an 8-week summer science academy (preliminary education) (7-week on-campus program designed to strengthen the academic base in science, mathematics, and English and one-week clinical experience).  At least 80% (12) students in level I and 85% (13) students in level II will exhibit successful progression (level I of GPA 2.5 and level II of GPA 2.7 in the next academic year and enroll in pre-health program) to the next level. (iii) To facilitate entry each year identify, select, and enroll 25 educationally and economically disadvantaged minority juniors and seniors at MSU, who have demonstrated interest in and potential for careers in health professions, in the HCOP Saturday academy for 16 weeks to develop their greater proficiencies in standardized test-taking professional school application preparations, interview techniques, and cultural competence.  It is expected that 80% (20) of the participants will apply for admission to schools of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy and 72% (18) will be accepted in six years.  (iv) To increase the academic progression rate (graduation in four years) from 55% to 85% and the retention rate from 60% to 90% over a six-year period. Counseling and mentoring services will be provided to all students to accomplish this objective.

Massachusetts

Middlesex Community College
Linda Ferragamo, M.A.
33 Kearney Square
Lowell, MA  01852-1901
(978) 656-3011
FAX (978) 441-1749
ferragamol@admn.mcc.mass.edu

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

Middlesex Community College (MCC) is a publicly funded, two-year college with campuses in Bedford and Lowell, Massachusetts.  MCC has a long-standing tradition of commitment to providing educational opportunities for economically and educationally disadvantaged populations.

The MCC will develop a more competitive applicant pool by partnering with organizations to identify, recruit, and select each year for five years at least 25 promising high school seniors from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds for participation in HCOP programs that prepare them for entry into post-secondary allied health training programs.  Facilitate entry (admission) of HCOP students into college-level training programs in allied health so that in year one, a minimum of 65 percent of cohort students who apply are accepted and enrolled in programs.  Provide students with skills and knowledge required to enter into and succeed in post-secondary allied health career programs through preliminary education activities (tutoring, cultural diversity activities and mini-courses) and Summer Enrichment Program (math, science and English courses and cultural diversity activities).

Increase student understanding of primary care careers by conducting a minimum of nine primary care exposure activities during the Senior Year Academic Enrichment Program and Summer Enrichment Program (tours of hospital departments, health and science site experiences, health career workshops) with each HCOP student participating in a minimum of seven of the nine activities.  Provide counseling and mentoring and facilitate access to academic and other support services for HCOP students enrolling in MCC’s college level training programs in allied health so that for each entering cohort, within a three year period, students will transfer, graduate or continue to be enrolled in classes.

HCOP staff will regularly collect and update student data through a Tracking System that includes interviews, written surveys, and statistical information provided by the MCC Office of Enrollment Management.  A “Tracking File” will be developed for each student.

Tufts University
School of Medicine
Douglas Brugge, Ph.D
136 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 636-0326
FAX (617) 636-4017
dbrugge@aol.com

Comprehensive Health Careers Opportunity Program

In a city with both world-class medical resources and medically underserved communities our HCOP brings together institutions with the capacity to make a difference.  Our HCOP is a unique and groundbreaking partnership between the Boston Public Schools and the pre-collegiate programs at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) – which have large numbers of educationally and economically disadvantaged students – the educational opportunities at Tufts University/ School of Medicine (TUSM) and dozens of professional volunteers at Tufts and the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA- a community organization).  Our program will increase the number of disadvantaged students graduating from medical school in primary care and/or public health graduate programs.  The partnership includes students, teachers, professors, professionals, administrators, and parents. 

We will have two structured programs in the summer, one for 25 middle school students and one for 25 high school students.  Each will run for seven weeks, five days/week, eight hours/day; 189 instructional hours, 91 other structured, 280 total.  We focus on summer academic programs, and intensive tutoring, mentoring, and test preparation at the college and graduate level.  We address all seven HCOP program purposes.  Tutoring, standardized test preparation, and training on cultural competence will occur at all levels of the pipeline.  We will also conduct recruitment, primary care exposure, financial aid dissemination and facilitation of entry at each stage of the pipeline.  Our partnership is designed to develop a more competitive applicant pool.  Further, we meet all four legislative funding preferences: we have a signed formal agreement (an MOU), coordination within a geographic area (Boston), a focus on formation of a competitive applicant pool, and a focus on cultural competence.  It must be emphasized that we meet all six criteria for a comprehensive HCOP.  Our objectives address two of the National Workplace Goals: 1) increasing disadvantaged graduates and program completers; an