JULY 5, 1999
When Brown University undergraduates Brad Mak and Felicia Kuo decided to launch an innovative new initiative called Project HEALTH: Brown University (Helping Empower, Advocate and Lead Through Health), they didn’t have to look far for help. They approached Lifespan to make the project a reality.
Mak and Kuo modeled their program after a similar one at Harvard and MIT, where student volunteers initiate programs to improve the health of children and their families. “Working with Lifespan gives us the opportunity to go beyond the academic setting and to directly serve the community,” says Kuo.
After their model was in place, Mak and Kuo developed mentoring relationships with HCH’s director of pediatric ambulatory medicine Anthony Alario, MD, asthma specialists Anthony Mansell, MD and Catherine Mansell, RN, and adolescent pediatrician Rosalind Vaz, MD. Other mentors include Maureen Rodgers, Gregory Kelley, Frank Spadazzi, Elizabeth McQuaid, Ph.D., Jack Nassau, Ph.D., and RIH Foundation board member Lisa Van Allsburg.
“We’re delighted to be a part of this project,” says Lifespan youth initiatives project coordinator John Morgan, who helped match the students with mentors. “It’s a way for us to foster community and student connections and to share our expertise.”
One of the initiative’s first projects was to improve the quality of life for kids with asthma, a disease that strikes inner city children twice as often as other children.
They created a swim program, coordinated by HCH’s Draw A Breath and the Southside Boys and Girls Club.
“Swimming is ideal for these children because swimming is an activity that triggers the fewest asthmatic complications,” says Mansell. “It allows kids to realize they can do the same things other kids can do.” Mansell also arranged for participants to receive free materials to help control asthma.
Four student coordinators, under the mentorship of the Mansells and Southside director Lisa Cardoza, designed a five-week education and swim program. Volunteers taught asthma physiology, triggers and treatment through crafts and activities that appeal to children. Each session included a swimming class to help them improve cardiovascular and pulmonary capacity and to learn water safety. Volunteers also met with family members to promote more asthma-friendly home environments by lessening the presence of allergens such as dust and mold.
The program was so successful, the Mansells and the volunteers are planning another 12-week swim program in the fall.
In addition to its asthma program, Project HEALTH: Brown also sponsored a pilot program to promote fitness and nutrition for adolescent girls. Under the direction of Vaz, the girls learned healthy eating habits and the importance of regular exercise.
Coming this fall, a family help desk will be located at HCH and supervised by Alario. Volunteers will provide families with information about health insurance, food and housing cash assistance, childcare, job training and domestic violence intervention.
“This is a win-win situation,” says Alario. “Students team to interact with people of different socioeconomic backgrounds. They also are able to directly help members of the community, and to help us provide services to more people in need.”