The Cahaba Newsletter: February 2023
CAHABA MEDICAL CARE NEWS
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CAHABA MEDICAL CARE NEWS 〰️
CAHABA MEDICAL CARE - HOPE HEALTH NOW OPEN
Cahaba Medical Care - Hope Health, a merger with Hope Health in Fairfield, officially opened its doors on February 6th. Hope Health has been a trusted provider in the community for 20 years, and we are excited to continue providing quality care to Fairfield's residents. Dr. Tom Edwards, Dr. Ben Davidson and Marion Henderson, a licensed counselor, will continue serving patients at this location and will be joined by Dr. Drake Duckworth and Chastity Showell, MSW.
CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT AT FAIRFIELD SCHOOLS
With funding made possible through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Schools Branch, the American Academy of Pediatrics launched a Chronic Condition Management in Schools Community Grants Program. Cahaba Medical Care was awarded $12,500 for a 6-month project period to plan and implement collaborative projects to advance chronic condition management in the Fairfield City School System. Through this program, advanced practice providers will provide educational sessions and activities on diabetes, hypertension, asthma, seizures, obesity, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse in classrooms at CJ Donald Middle School and Fairfield Preparatory High School with the goal of identifying students with chronic conditions and ensuring they are receiving the proper care.
CAHABA IN THE CLASSROOM: R.C. HATCH HIGH SCHOOL
In observance of Children's Mental Health Week and the National Heart Association Awareness Month in February, Cahaba Medical Care - Marion partnered with R. C. Hatch High School (Uniontown, Perry County) to present "Matters of the Heart: Mental Wellness and Cardiac Health on February 8th. Joycelyn Bolden, Behavioral Health Consultant, and Dr. Michael Luther, Family Medicine Physician at the Marion location, discussed how your heart matters physically and emotionally to a group of peer helpers and other high school students. The Peer Helper Program includes students who are trained to recognize when their peers may have a problem, listen to fellow students confidentially, and assist them with emotional, societal, or academic struggles.
Ms. Bolden discussed one aspect of mental health - depression. In her discussion, she covered symptoms of depression, treatments, and coping skills. The students were given a short quiz at the end that they "aced." Dr. Michael Luther engaged in an interactive exercise with the students to discuss the physical makeup of the heart and the factors contributing to heart disease. Through his presentation, the students simulated how stress, high blood pressure, smoking/vaping, cholesterol, and genetics contribute to heart attacks. The students were rewarded for their participation with treats and gift cards. Also in attendance were Charles Jackson, Social Work Case Worker, and Patricia Cade, Community Development Coordinator, who shared information about Cahaba's services and the Well Child Check Program for children.
Cahaba thanks Dr. Eliza Dudley and Ms. Meredith Wiggins for providing this opportunity for our providers to bring this program to students at R. C. Hatch High School.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: THE DANNON PROJECT
Cahaba Medical Care Foundation has partnered with the Dannon Project to provide mental health, substance use disorder, medical, and pharmaceutical services to Dannon Project participants who have recently been released from jail or prison. Research has found that former inmates have a greater risk of death following the first weeks of leaving prison, particularly to overdose and suicide. In an effort to combat these statistics and offer health to returning citizens, Cahaba and The Dannon Project have collaborated to create special clinic days specifically for their participants to receive holistic health care and affordable medications through the Cahaba Medical Care pharmacy.
RESIDENCY NEWS
WELCOME, DR. JENNY BROCKINGTON!
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jenny Brockington has joined the team at Cahaba Medical Care - West End.
Dr. Brockington received her Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from Kansas City University and completed her Family Medicine training, as well as the Tropical Medicine Program diploma at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and has served in many rural areas around the world, including Uganda, Zambia, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Africa.
Dr. Brockington's dedication to providing quality care to all is rooted in her Christian faith and her passion for service.
INTERNATIONAL ROTATIONS: INDIA
Submitted by: Dr. Sruthi Damodara (PGY-1 urban resident)
For my Missions trip, I chose to go to India. I was at one of the AIG Hospitals, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India. I was rounding in the ICU for 2 weeks and clinic for 2 weeks with wards rounding throughout the month. One of the things I noticed immediately was that all the notes and prescriptions were written on paper. This was a challenge at first as I was trying to understand the progression of a patient’s stay. However, as I spoke with the other residents and doctors I realized that I needed to trust myself more, and I began reviewing patient’s charts by looking at all the data available and coming up with my own problem list and how I would treat patients. This helped me immensely as I felt more confident in my presentations.
During my time on wards, I was surprised to see that the patient’s family would take the prescriptions down to pharmacy, pick up the prescriptions and bring it back for the nurses to administer on the floor. Usually, here, we put the order and nurses get the medication to administer. During my time in clinic, I was also surprised to see its run. Patients would see Dr. Talluri in clinic and get recommended for lab tests, imaging, procedures and referred to other specialists in the building. When they got the results from those areas, sometimes the same day, they would return to the clinic for final consultation, diagnoses, and treatment plans. There were times I would see patients almost every day for a week as different tests resulted.
INTERNATIONAL ROTATIONS: NICARAGUA
Submitted by: Dr. Joel Manzi (PGY-2 Urban Resident)
On January 4-16th, 2023, I traveled to Diriomo, Nicaragua to work with Los Rayos de Esperanza Ministries in their community medicine clinical outreach center, Clinia Mejor Salud. While there I had the opportunity to work with their primary physician, Dr. Gioconda Vargas, at their community medicine clinic. In these clinics, I saw a variety of patients for both scheduled, primary care patients as well as acute, walk-in visits. During these clinic days, I saw both children and adults ranging from age 18 months to 98 years old. In addition to these primary care clinic days, I also had the opportunity to work with the Community Health Workers, called Promotadoras, in their village rounds. We would travel out with a nurse and a promotadora to remote rural villages and do home visits on sick elderly and handicapped individuals who were unable to travel to clinic. We would do a regular check up, provide monthly medications, and also do small procedures like joint injections and wound care. Lastly, I was able to meet with their group prenatal care visits where we were able to provide prenatal care and education regarding pregnancy and newborn care. The other educational opportunity I had was to work with the promotadoras. During their weekly schedule, they have a time for meetings and didactic education. I was able to give a lecture on hypertension management during their didactic session and make it into an interactive educational experience. Overall, I had a fantastic time working at Los Rayos and would highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in community health/primary care delivery in a Latino community.
In regards to the physical, mental, and spiritual wellness of the patients I encountered on my trip, I can say that I was able to have a significant impact on their physical health needs. This community only has one physician, so being there significantly increased the access to care. We were also able to bring in some medications that can be harder to find in the rural areas of the country and help to stock the pharmacy. From a mental health perspective, I was able to have some very good conversations with my patients in regards to their mental health. I had several patients with severe anxiety and depression, and was able to have an intervention with them in the clinical setting and also to start a SSRI. It is uncommon for most people to take medication for anxiety or depression in this part of the world, and the doctors I worked with weren’t super familiar with prescribing it. Thankfully, I was able to take some of my experience working in mental health and show the other providers how to incorporate it into their primary care delivery in a way that the patients received very well. Lastly, I really enjoyed working with Los Rayos because all the patients had the opportunity to receive prayer from their care teams. I felt like this really helped to bond the patients and the caregivers together, while also addressing the spiritual needs of the patients. I felt like the mission of holistic, patient-centered care was met exceptionally well by the staff at Los Rayos, and I am proud to have been able to contribute in some small way to their efforts in Diriomo and the surrounding communities.
DR. J.O. WAITS DONATES LAND FOR FREEDOM FARM
Cahaba Medical Care is honored to recognize one of our own, Dr. J.O. Waits, for his generous donation of a 60-acre piece of property in Coker to help build a foster care community called Freedom Farm.
"Our hope and vison is this will be a safe haven for abused, abandoned and neglected children" said Waits. “God planted this on my heart a while back and I’ve almost ignored it for a while, and I can’t ignore it anymore. The Bible talks a lot about us waiting on him, but I think the reverse is true. He waits on us sometimes to take a step when he’s called us to do something and that’s what’s happening.”
Phase one will include seven homes to foster 42 children and the foster families taking care of them, as well as a chapel. An activity center is also planned.
To read more about Freedom Farm, check out the following articles from Tuscaloosa News and ABC 33/40.
Freedom Farm will fulfill vision for foster families, organizers say (Tuscaloosa News)
Surgeon donates land for foster care community (ABC 33/40)
MINI HEALTH FAIR IN CAMDEN
Braving the cold, staff members from Cahaba Medical Care teamed up with Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Engage Alabama, a group of student volunteers in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Alabama, to host a mini-health fair in Camden on Saturday, February 18th.
Dr. Arnelya Cade Chatman, 2018 graduate of the Cahaba Family Medicine Residency and physician at Cahaba Medical Care - Woodstock, Dr. Michael Luther, Frontier Track Assistant Residency Director and physician at Cahaba Medical Care - Marion, Dr. Ijeoma Okeke, 1st-year Frontier Track resident, and Lashandra Walter, a 2021 graduate of the Cahaba Nurse Practitioner Residency and nurse practitioner at Cahaba Medical Care - Marion, welcomed residents of the area who came to get their blood pressure and glucose level checked. Patricia Cade, Community Development Coordinator for Perry and Wilcox, and Amanda Cotton, Behavioral Health Counselor at Cahaba Medical Care - Camden shared information about the services that Cahaba Medical Care Camden has to offer.
Through the event, people who did not have a primary care doctor were given the opportunity to make appointments with the providers at Cahaba Medical Care - Camden. In addition, the staff had the opportunity to provide an overview of the educational programs offered through Cahaba's Teaching Health Center to the student volunteers with Engage Alabama many of whom are pursuing degrees in psychology, pre-med, and other STEM courses.
Cahaba Medical Care is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our community partners as we strive to make a difference in the communities we serve. This event is just one of many to come!
We are a community-based non-profit healthcare organization that aims to follow Christ in becoming an incarnation of love, peace, and justice for our patients on their journey towards physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being