Obici Healthcare
Foundation funds two community initiatives at EVMS
October 19, 2007
NORFOLK—The Obici Healthcare Foundation has awarded $371,865 to
Eastern Virginia Medical School to support two community initiatives:
- $240,000 to the L.D. Britt, M.D.
Scholarship program to provide loan-forgiveness awards for
underrepresented minority physicians to practice in the greater
Suffolk region and provide medical care for the underserved
- $131,865 over two years to Kelli
England Will, Ph.D., EVMS assistant professor of pediatrics, for
research that aims to increase the safety of children riding in
motor vehicles
The Britt Scholarship was established
in 1995 by William E. Russell, Ed.D., as a way to thank his surgeon,
L.D. Britt, M.D., Brickhouse professor and chairman of surgery at EVMS.
Russell created the Britt Scholarship Committee, which raises funds each
year to pay the tuition of talented underrepresented minority medical
students who have been accepted to EVMS.
The goal of the Britt Scholarship
program is to increase the number of underrepresented minority
physicians. Tuition, fees and living expenses bring the total cost of
medical education to more than $160,000 - a financial commitment that
can be a barrier for underrepresented minority college students who
otherwise would consider careers in medicine. Research studies have
shown that underrepresented minority physicians are more likely to serve
individuals from their own racial backgrounds and are more likely to
provide care to the poor, uninsured, and underinsured.
The Obici Healthcare Foundation will
augment this initiative by providing up to $120,000 in student
loan-forgiveness support for two physicians who commit to practice
primary care, surgery or psychiatry in the communities served by the
Obici Healthcare Foundation The awards are open to physicians who earned
their M.D. or completed residency training at EVMS, and/or are willing
to serve as an EVMS preceptor or faculty member. To qualify for the loan
forgiveness awards, physicians also must commit to serve a substantial
number of medically indigent patients.
"We're very excited about this
opportunity to have a significant impact on some of the underserved
communities in Suffolk and the surrounding areas," said Russell,
chairman of the Britt Scholarship Committee. "This is going to help us
keep our Britt scholars here in Hampton Roads."
Will's grant supports her "Boost 'em to
Safety" initiative. Will and her research team have developed a
six-minute video, called "Boost 'em in the Back Seat," that demonstrates
the safety benefits of booster seats.
"One of the primary reasons for
injuries to children who are restrained at the time of crashes is
premature graduation to safety belts," Will said. "Research indicates
that the odds of injury due to a motor vehicle crash in children aged
four to seven are 59 percent lower when riding in belt-positioning
booster seats than when riding in seat belts alone. Approximately one in
four U.S. children aged four to eight uses a booster seat, indicating
that 75 percent are traveling at risk," Will added.
Project staff will disseminate the
video by working with eight physician offices and four public health
departments in Suffolk and Isle of Wight County. Will expects that as
many as 5,000 parents of children in the target audience will see the
video. Earlier studies involving the video have resulted in a 24 percent
increase in booster seat knowledge and risk-reduction attitudes, and a
16 percent increase in booster seat use in study site parking lots.
Will and her colleagues will evaluate
the effectiveness of educating parents through physician offices and
public health departments by surveying nurses, physicians and public
health professionals at partnering sites and by direct observation of
booster seat use in the community.
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