{"id":230138,"date":"2025-05-10T14:15:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T18:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=230138"},"modified":"2025-05-13T07:23:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T11:23:05","slug":"uconns-health-profession-programs-brings-interprofessional-education-and-collaboration-to-northeast-connecticut-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/05\/uconns-health-profession-programs-brings-interprofessional-education-and-collaboration-to-northeast-connecticut-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn\u2019s Health Profession Programs Brings Interprofessional Education and Collaboration to Northeast Connecticut Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOur committee<\/span> has been engaged in a variety of <\/span>efforts<\/span> to <\/span>collaborate with community partners to <\/span>help address unmet health needs in communities in northeast Connecticut<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> according to<\/span> Devra Dang, clinical professor of pharmacy practice and a co-chair of CIPEH. <\/span>Its<\/span>\u00a0Northeast CT Initiative<\/span> was <\/span>developed<\/span>\u00a0in<\/span> response to a <\/span><\/span>rural health summit<\/span><\/span><\/a> hosted by State Comptroller Sean Scanlon<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"CIPEH
CIPEH faculty at the Northeast CT Family Health and Wellness Day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event hosted <\/span>interactive <\/span>booths and activities aimed at <\/span>promoting health and wellness <\/span>for <\/span>individuals<\/span> of all ages. <\/span>Attendees received free health screenings <\/span>such as <\/span>blood pressure and hearing loss tests, <\/span>learned about<\/span> lung health and<\/span> asthma inhaler techniques, prescription medication affordability tips, <\/span>healthy <\/span>nutrition, <\/span>and<\/span> balance assessment and fall prevention. According to Stephanie Gernant, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and a CIPEH co-chair, “<\/span>T<\/span>he focus was not just on learning about health conditions that attendees may already have developed, but also on prevention and wellness across the lifespan.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nicole Gallagher, a clinical professor of speech-language and CIPEH secretary was especially fond of the hands-on experiences the event provided children and their families: <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The foundation of good health <\/span>habits<\/span> should start early<\/span> in life<\/span>. <\/span>We all loved seeing the kids <\/span>who attended the health fair <\/span>be so engaged with our <\/span>fun, <\/span>interactive <\/span>topic<\/span>s<\/span>.\u201d <\/span>In addition, children and teens had opportunities to discuss health career options with UConn health profession <\/span>students and<\/span> got to <\/span>visualize<\/span> themselves as future healthcare professionals at the photo booth. <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>[It]<\/span> was excellent. Seeing all the different programs, and hearing from current students, really shows what a wonderful University we have, so close to home. Everyone we <\/span>encountered<\/span> was excited to share about their program, and very engaging with my kids!<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u202f- <\/span>Cassie K<\/span>iley<\/span> fro<\/span>m Brooklyn, CT who attended with her family<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Community partner organizations were a key <\/span>component<\/span> of this collaborative event. <\/span>T<\/span>he Northeast District Department of Health <\/span>co-hosted the<\/span> family health and wellness day<\/span> and worked with Dang and two <\/span>Master of Public Health students<\/span> over <\/span>a number of<\/span> weeks <\/span>to <\/span>develop activities for <\/span>this multi-faceted event<\/span>.<\/span> In total, nine community organizations <\/span>brought a variety of health-related topics and resources, including <\/span>Generations Family Health Center, Day Kimball Hospital, Hartford Healthcare Community Health, and <\/span>AHEC\/ <\/span>Health Education Center.<\/span> Participants from UConn\u2019s Master Gardener Program provided science-based tips on gardening topics and distributed free seeds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he event <\/span>also <\/span>provided an excellent avenue for UConn health profession students to<\/span> engage in interprofessional education and collaboration, learning with, from, and about each profession as they <\/span>teamed up<\/span> to present<\/span> healt<\/span>h topics.<\/span> \u201cBrainstorming health fair plans and developing Psychological Sciences<\/span>\u2019<\/span> materials promoting stress management across the lifespan tapped into creative and collaborative skills. We enjoyed the planning process, learning from other UConn faculty and students, and look forward to strengthening future efforts to serve those in Northeast Connecticut<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>state<\/span>d<\/span> Christine Yantz, assistant clinical <\/span>professor<\/span> and assistant director of the Psychological Services Clinic.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

CIPEH consists of 11 UConn heath profession programs across <\/span>three<\/span> campuses (Storrs, Farmington, Hartford): athletic training\/kinesiology, audiology, <\/span>clinical psychology, <\/span>dietetics, dental medicine, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology<\/span>, and social work, and <\/span>report<\/span>s<\/span> to <\/span>the <\/span>health profession deans and <\/span>the <\/span>Vice Provost for Health Sciences and Interdisciplinary Initiatives<\/span>, Amy Gorin<\/span>. <\/span>Established <\/span>in 2013<\/span> with the support of the deans of health profession programs<\/span>, CIPEH’s <\/span>primary<\/span> goal is to advance interprofessional collaboration in education, community outreach and patient care, and research.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brooklynn
Brother and sister at the health careers photo booth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Dang, t<\/span>he Northeast Connecticut Family Health and Wellness Day was just one of several community-based events that CIPEH faculty and students have actively <\/span>participated<\/span> in <\/span>at<\/span> towns in Windham and Tolland Coun<\/span>t<\/span>y<\/span> during this academic year<\/span>. Other recent community outreach events include<\/span>d<\/span> a health fair for older adults hosted by the town of Thompson,<\/span> the Coventry Winter Farmers\u2019 Market, and vaccine clinics at senior centers in collaboration with the Eastern Hyland Health District. <\/span>A number of<\/span> upcoming<\/span> health-related outreach activities are being planned, including events <\/span>during<\/span> th<\/span>e<\/span> summer.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christine Haines, clinical professor of <\/span>audiology<\/span> note<\/span>d<\/span> that<\/span>,<\/span> \u201cInterprofessional education within health profession training is crucial so that our students know how to best work together to <\/span>optimize<\/span> patient care when they become clinicians.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I look forward to collaborating with students and faculty from across UConn health disciplines in supporting the wellbeing of Connecticut\u2019s residents in future community engagement efforts.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> – Christine Haines<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

UConn programs and community organizations interested in collaborating with CIPEH on future <\/span>health-related <\/span>community outreach events can reach out to Devra Dang at <\/span><\/span>devra.dang@uconn.edu<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday April 26th, the Northeast Connecticut Family Health and Wellness Day was held at Killingly High School. Developed and hosted by UConn\u2019s Committee for Interprofessional Excellence in Healthcare (CIPEH), the event presented more than 30 health-related topics to residents in northeast Connecticut communities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":230141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2296,2224,2299,1864],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2644],"class_list":["post-230138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allied-health-sciences","category-cahnr","category-kinesiology","category-pharm"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-28 14:38:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230138"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230201,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230138\/revisions\/230201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/230141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230138"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=230138"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=230138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}