Medical School Chapter Events

Highlights:

• Listen to our past MSS Chair, Alik Widge, who was recorded for a CTUW audio news release (MP3, 1MB, requires a media player) publicizing why medical students care about the uninsured.
• This slide presentation (PDF, 442KB) provides a good source of information for your chapter projects.

As a national supporter in Cover the Uninsured Week (CTUW) 2007, the MSS is one of many national organizations in the United States helping to make the issue of the uninsured a focus of national discussion. Join your fellow students the week of April 23-29 for the official Cover the Uninsured Week, when individuals and organizations from every sector of society will join together to organize events that will raise awareness and build interest in covering the uninsured.

If you are interested in participating in a Cover the Uninsured Week activity or planning an event in your area, visit www.CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org to find out what is already being planned near you and to view, download, or order the CTUW Action Kit and free materials, such as brochures, posters, stickers and more. We encourage you to take part in this important effort. Please contact the Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator nearest you for more information on organizing campus events at your medical school.

In addition, the AAMC has relaunched a Web-based resource tool, "Protecting America's Uninsured," to demonstrate the variety of programs and services available to uninsured patients through the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals. For more information, please visit the AAMC's uninsured site.

Below are some of the activities being organized at campuses around the nation to promote CTUW. If your school is organizing a CTUW event or you have questions regarding the AMA-MSS’s involvement in CTUW, please contact the MSS Governing Council At-Large Officer, John Vasudevan, or the MSS Community Service Committee Chair, Kelly Cawcutt, or Vice Chair, Binney McCague, or the MSS Policy Analyst, Keith Voogd.

Emory School of Medicine
Health professional students from all of Georgia’s medical schools, led by the Emory, Morehouse, and Mercer AMA Chapters, took action to demand that the Georgia legislature protect prenatal care, vaccinations, and income-based sliding scales for uninsured immigrant women and children despite proposed legislation that would deny publicly-funded health care to undocumented immigrants. Student leaders held a "Leave No Child's Health Behind Rally!" at the Capitol with Dr. Daniel Blumenthal, Chair of the Morehouse Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine and Dr. Art Kellermann, Chair of the Emory Department of Emergency Medicine as the keynote speakers.

Following the rally, student teams met with their legislators to advocate for protecting access to health care for all of Georgia's uninsured immigrant children. This event was the first statewide collaboration of all of Georgia’s medical schools to engage health professionals and students in advocating on behalf of underserved populations in Georgia. Over 150 students, residents and physicians participated.

Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Over 100 Loma Linda University medical students and faculty attended a "Working Within the System – Practical Ways to Increase Access to Health Care" session held to expose participants to various ways to decrease the number of uninsured patients. The presentation was given by Dustin Corcoran, Vice-President of Government Affairs for the California Medical Association.

The goal of this event was to expose audience members to AMA-supported methods to cover the uninsured. These methods include: a) The encouragement of employers to provide employees with health insurance or pay into state operated purchasing pools b) Through appropriate channels, encourage unions, trade associations, health insurance purchasing cooperatives, farm bureaus, fraternal organizations, chambers of commerce, churches and religious groups, ethnic coalitions, and similar groups to serve as voluntary choice cooperatives for both children and the general uninsured population (AMA policy 165.882[15]).

Mercer University School of Medicine
Mercer’s MSS chapter members helped run the local volunteer clinic for a day and held an information fair regarding insurance options for the currently uninsured. The clinic is run by students and local physicians and is open to uninsured and under insured individuals. It is estimated that approximately 50 patients and their families visit the clinic on a daily basis. The goals of this event were to provide medical care for the uninsured patients who visit the volunteer clinic and to provide them with information about Medicare, Medicaid, Peachcare for Kids, COBRA, and low cost primary care coverage.

SUNY Buffalo
The University at Buffalo School of Medicine recognized Cover the Uninsured Week 2006 from April 2nd - April 7th. Several lunch lectures featured physician members of the Erie County State Medical Society and administrators involved in local health insurance companies to give different perspectives and opinions on the issue of the uninsured in our community. The main goal of this week long project was to educate medical students and raise awareness of the issue of the uninsured in America.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry
The University of Rochester is hosting this spring's AMA-MSS Region VII meeting with the theme being "Covering the Uninsured." Activities are being planned throughout the week prior to the meeting, culminating in the meeting itself on Friday and Saturday, May 5th-6th. Regional legislators and elected officials, representatives from private HMO companies, as well as patient advocates have been invited to offer different perspectives on the problem of access to healthcare. Additionally, the chapter is hosting a community service event in the City of Rochester geared toward raising awareness about the uninsured.

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Students at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are coordinating the 7th Annual Helping Hands 5K Fun Run/Walk, which is a fundraising event that benefits St. John's Family Clinic in New Brunswick, NJ. This health clinic is a much needed health care service for the uninsured/underinsured population. The event annually draws students, doctors, community members, families and friends to participate in a 5K run/walk in Piscataway's Johnson Park. All of the money raised by the event is presented to the clinic's staff at the culmination of the event. Last year, this event raised $8,500.

The goals of this event are not only to raise money for St. John’s Family Clinic in New Brunswick, but also to raise awareness for and support the underinsured/uninsured members of the community.

Meharry Medical College
Students from the Meharry Medical College organized a panel discussion on serving the uninsured. Panelists included two faculty physicians and a representative from Cigna Health insurance. In addition to the panel discussion, chapter members handed out a list of resources containing facts on the uninsured as well as opportunities for students to get more involved in covering the uninsured. The goals of this event were to increase awareness of the issue and encourage activity to improve healthcare for both patients.

University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota’s AMA-MSS chapter is hosting their cover the uninsured week during the week of April 17-21. The chapter is planning a series of lunch lectures including one by Representative Paul Theissen who will be giving a lecture about a bill he introduced in the Minnesota legislature on health care coverage for kids in MN. This lecture is meant to present information on current movements to provide coverage to uninsured or underinsured children in Minnesota. In addition, professor Kathleen Thiede Call, from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health will be giving a lecture on health disparities and minority access to health care in Minnesota. This lecture is intended to educate people on the level of health disparities in minority communities. The chapter will also be showing a documentary from the Frontline television series. The film follows a Boston physician to examine how changes in managed care have affected his practice.

Below are some of the activities that were held in 2005:

Duke University School of Medicine
The Duke Medical Association-Medical Student Section, along with the Center for the Study of Medical Ethics and Humanities, is sponsoring a Town Hall discussion, CARING ENOUGH: Confronting the Crisis of Access to Healthcare.

While there is widespread agreement that the American health care system is in need of significant reform, there is strong disagreement as to the appropriate remedy. Following opening remarks by Victor Dzau, MD, Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University and President and CEO of the Duke University Health System, three experts with differing perspectives on solutions to the problem of access to care will present their views. Panelists will include: Daniel Johnson, MD, Visiting Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and Past President of the American Medical Association; Steffie Woolhandler, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Co-Founder of Physicians for a National Health Program; and Congressman David Price from North Carolina's 4th Congressional District.

Minnesota-Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities planned a number of events the week of April 11-15 to promote Cover the Uninsured Week. The chapter hosted a panel discussion to compare various healthcare reform proposals that seek to insure more Americans. They also hosted a lecture to discuss current healthcare reform efforts occurring in Minnesota. Specifically, the lecture addressed the recent proposal to insure all Minnesotans put forth by the Minnesota Medical Association.

On a broader campus level, an opinion article was submitted to The Minnesota Daily, the campus newspaper, to increase awareness of the problem of uninsurance.

Lastly, on a community level, they organized a service project with the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) in Minnesota. This project included hosting a training session for medical students to learn how to register children for sCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) benefits. These skills will be used at a health fair they are planning with the CDF.

University of Rochester
The University of Rochester held a week of events for Cover the Uninsured Week (CTUW) from March 28th to April 1st. To kick off the week, AMA Student Trustee Matthew Lawyer, JD, presented the AMA Plan to Cover the Uninsured. A brown-bag, round-table lunch discussion of the plan followed the presentation to provide the medical students with a Q & A forum. Mid-week the chapter held a panel discussion with local experts on health care access, sharing various perspectives on covering the uninsured.

At the end of the week, the chapter provided laptops so that students could sign a petition that supports legislation extending coverage to currently uninsured children, removing existing barriers for current children's health insurance programs and increasing awareness about existing programs that insure children. Finally, the chapter provided band-aids with the number “8 million” written on them to raise awareness regarding children without health insurance.

Below are some of the activities that were held in 2004:

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor students planned a week long lunch lecture series on the uninsured, including topics such as "The Effect of Insurance on Access to Medical Care" and "Accidental System: An Overview and Critique;" Cover the Uninsured Week (May 10-16) activities in the Metro-Detroit area; and an overview of the Institute of Medicine's Report on the Uninsured.

The week culminated with a lobby day to meet with state legislators on the issue of the uninsured and a health care rally "Eliminating Health Care Disparities: A Prescription for the 21st Century" on the capital building steps.

Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University (SIU) medical students planned a week of events, including a health fair with expanded coverage for adults (past fairs have focused mainly on children), a Medicine Grand Rounds with an additional presentation to area organizations, and a SAfety net Health CAre provider appreciation luncheon. They are widely publicized these events and had the full support of the mayor and his office. The students intended on raising a lot of awareness politically since they are in the state capital. This week of events was organized by the SIU Department of Medicine Chair, and the AMA-MSS is specifically coordinating the health fair.

Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) medical students organized events for Cover The Uninsured Week (CTUW) campus week, April 19th-23rd. Tables were set up in the student union to publicize the plight of the uninsured and to invite students to attend a panel discussion later in the week, which was quite successful. Useful information was provided by the experts on the panel and a great discussion ensued. Panel participants consisted of community physicians who work in clinics in underserved areas, a Doctor of Pharmacy who runs a Coumadin program for low income/uninsured patients, a social worker, and a nationally known geriatrician who has worked on a model at the local level to help provide a solution to the uninsured. The event was informative and brought out passion for this issue on the part of both students and professors in attendance.

Harvard Medical School
Students from Harvard planned an event during Cover the Uninsured Week unveiling case studies of the uninsured. They will announce the release of the cases when they are available.

University of Virginia
The University of Virginia's AMA-MSS chapter hosted, through the help of a Policy Promotion Grant (PPG), a Health Policy Lecture Series to promote political and health policy awareness to fellow medical students and residents. The series consisted of a set of four lunchtime lectures, one of which featured a lecture by the medical school dean on Insuring the Uninsured.

University of Iowa
The University of Iowa hosted a UI mobile clinic open house and brief mobile clinic presentation. Many Johnson County community and business leaders, health care partners, mobile clinic sponsors, and UI leaders were invited for this special event to preview UI’s new bus. This grassroots effort was initiated to enlist mobile clinic volunteers, as well as to raise awareness of and encourage solutions for the nearly 44 million Americans—including 8.5 million children—who lack health coverage.

UNTHSC/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
The University of North Texas Health Science Center – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine focused their efforts on covering the uninsured through an educational campaign on their campus. Medical students on this campus put together a one page update outlining the consequences of being uninsured, such as the effects on prognosis, as well as highlighting financial data showing the burden on emergency rooms serving as primary care facilities. Medical students also put up informational boards outlining the demographics of the uninsured and ordered materials from CTUW website to stuff their fellow students’ mail boxes with handouts.

Boston University
Boston University held several events for the 2004 CTUW campus week, April 19-26. Medical students at this campus organized informational tables in the main lobby to education their fellow students on this issue, as well as decorated sign boards in high traffic areas featuring a “fact a day” to alert students to the realities and dire consequences of this pressing issue. BU hosted 2 presentations—one focused on who constitutes the uninsured and what coverage options are available in MA and the other focused on the importance of advocacy and lobbying for patients.

University of Florida
The University of Florida coordinated a panel discussion addressing healthcare inequities and hosted a health screening fair at a local homeless shelter, St. Francis House. It was estimated that over 100 clients attended the fair and participated in the screenings for hypertension, glaucoma, mental illnesses, and diabetes. Two social workers were on hand to provide information on health care resources and to make referrals within the local Gainesville area. Information was also distributed about a local legislative initiative to increase sales tax by 0.5% to help fund health care for people who lack health insurance.

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