DC Prep
DC Prep is a public charter school in Northeast D.C. that aims to bridge the educational divide in Washington, D.C. by increasing the number of students from underserved communities with the academic preparation and personal character to succeed in competitive high schools and colleges.
In recent years, D.C. mandated a health curriculum followed by a health-related test to be administered each May for all D.C. schools with little instruction on how to carry this out. Since 2012, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences Department of Emergency Medicine has partnered with DC Prep to facilitate this curriculum with guest lectures for 5th and 8th graders by students, residents, and faculty on a monthly basis. Topics are determined in conjunction with DC Prep teachers, and have included subjects like cardiovascular health, bullying, bike safety, alcohol and drugs, sexual health, and STDs. In 2013, the GW emergency department raised money and partnered with SafeKids and Bell Helmets to provide bike helmets for the entire school.
Teen Health Promoters
Teen Health Promoters is a year-long after-school program run by the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) for motivated high school students who are interested in community health and a future in health professions. Youth in the program meet twice weekly after school and are provided with comprehensive health training, matched with mentors, placed in a clinical internship, and participate in community outreach as well.
In 2013, GW Hospital and the Department of Emergency Medicine partnered with LAYC to serve as a clinical internship site for Teen Health Promoters. Each year, we now host six to eight students who come to GW weekly from February to May and shadow in the emergency department, medical/surgical wards, labor and delivery, physical therapy, and radiology. Emergency medicine residents and faculty host an annual simulation session for all students in the Teen Health Promoters program.
Rodham Institute
The Rodham Institute, established in 2013, aims to to partner with the local Washington, D.C. community to achieve health equity by cultivating the next generation of community-oriented health care providers, and training them in innovative strategies to improve health care for all. Priority areas include training clinicians in health equity, advancing health care workforce development, and community-based health equity research and evaluation.
Numerous opportunities to get involved in health equity initiatives and research are offered through the Rodham Institute. In 2015, a GW emergency medicine resident and faculty member were awarded an Academic Community Collaboration grant in partnership with residents and faculty from Unity Health Care to design an intervention to improve transitions of care between the GW emergency department and Unity, the largest network of Federally Qualified Health Centers in the region.
DC Happ
DC Health and Academic Prep Program (DC HAPP) is a four-week pre-college matriculation program coordinated by the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Office of Diversity and Inclusion, led by Dr. Yolanda Haywood, associate professor of emergency medicine and associate dean for diversity, inclusion, and student affairs. The program targets Washington, D.C. rising high school seniors who demonstrate an interest in pursuing a health career. Working directly with medical students, public health students, physicians and other medical professionals, DC HAPP scholars learn about various medical professions as possible career paths, participate in college preparatory activities, and are mentored through the college application process.