Lilburn Resident Named to 2016-1017 Class of North Carolina Schweitzer Fellows

Durham, NC, June 23, 2016—The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) today announced the selection of its 2016-2017 class of North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellows. Vinay Choksi of Lilburn, GA (pictured at left, above, with Fellowship partner Kyle Freischlag), is one of 30 graduate students, one of the biggest classes to date, who will spend the next year learning to effectively address the social factors that impact health, and developing lifelong leadership skills. In doing so, they will follow the example set by famed physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, for whom their Fellowship is named.

“We are extremely proud of our incoming class of Schweitzer Fellows, and we are excited to see what our talented students accomplish over the next 12 months,” said Barbara Heffner, Director of the North Carolina chapter of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “Our program is making a lasting impact on the health of communities in North Carolina as our Fellows first learn to serve and support vulnerable people in living healthier lives, and then take those skills with them when they establish themselves professionally as leaders in their field.”

Schweitzer Fellows develop and implement service projects that address the root causes of health disparities in under-resourced communities, while also fulfilling their academic responsibilities. Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based health and/or social service organization. The North Carolina program’s 2016-2017 Fellows will address an array of health, wellness, and awareness issues and initiatives aimed at assisting veterans dealing with PTSD; people living with diabetes; children in foster care; people with developmental disabilities; and many other groups.

For his project, Choksi, along with Schweitzer Fellow Kyle Freischlag, are helping older adults with memory loss at the Durham VA improve their health and well-being through personalized music therapy. This is an expansion of a 2015 Schweitzer Project.

Choksi and Freischlag are students at Duke School of Medicine.

Schweitzer Fellowships have an intensive leadership component, so that Fellows can go on to inspire others to improve the health of those who experience barriers to care. Fellows work under the close guidance of community and academic mentors during their fellowship year.

“The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship has a ripple effect in communities as Schweitzer Fellows improve the lives not only of those they are directly serving, but their circle of family and friends as well. So there is a lasting community impact,” said Sylvia Stevens-Edouard, Executive Director of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “Additionally, the process of moving their Fellowship projects from an initial concept to completion teaches Schweitzer Fellows valuable skills in working with others in allied fields. As Schweitzer Fellows develop professionally, this skill is critical to their ability to affect larger-scale change among vulnerable populations.”

The North Carolina Fellows will join approximately 240 other 2016-2017 Schweitzer Fellows working at program sites around the United States, as well as one in Lambaréné, Gabon at the site of The Albert Schweitzer Hospital, founded by Dr. Schweitzer in 1913. Upon completion of their Fellowship year, the 2016-2017 North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellows will become Schweitzer Fellows for Life and join a vibrant network of more than 3,200 Schweitzer alumni who are skilled in, and committed to, addressing the health needs of underserved people throughout their careers.

Nationally, some of ASF’s Fellows for Life include Rishi Manchanda, MD, author of the TED book The Upstream Doctors: Medical Innovators Track Sickness To Its Source; Jessica Lahey, JD, author of the recent bestseller The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn To Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, and who writes regularly about education and parenting issues for the New York Times and The Atlantic; and Robert Satcher, Jr., MD, PhD, assistant professor, Anderson Cancer Center and NASA mission specialist. Additionally, three Schweitzer Fellows for Life were among those who deployed to West Africa to fight the Ebola outbreak: William Fischer II, MD, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at University of North Carolina Health Care and UNC School of Medicine; Meredith Dixon, MD, who is a CDC epidemic intelligence service officer; and Nahid Bhadelia, MD, director of infection control at Boston’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory and a hospital epidemiologist at Boston Medical Center.

There are 14 U.S.-based Schweitzer programs. The others are in Alabama; Boston; Chicago; Columbus-Athens, Oh.; Dallas-Fort Worth; Houston; Los Angeles; New Hampshire/Vermont; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; San Francisco Bay Area; and Tulsa. Additionally, ASF also has a program chapter based in Lambaréné, Gabon, at The Albert Schweitzer Hospital.

2016-17 Albert Schweitzer Fellows North Carolina Chapter of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

Duke School of Medicine

Vinay Choksi and Kyle Freischlag

Vinay and Kyle are helping older adults with memory loss improve their health and well-being through personalized music therapy. This is an expansion of a 2015 Schweitzer Project.

Community site: Durham VA

Jing Han and Heather Burrell

Jing and Heather are providing medical and mental health care coordination through home based visits.

Community site: Duke Outpatient Clinic and Carolina Outreach (Durham location)

ECU School of Dental Medicine

Alexandra Davis and Ljiljana Karan

BCBSNC Foundation Schweitzer Fellows

Alex and Ljiljana are solidifying the foundation of the ECU SoDM Prenatal Oral Health Program (pOPH) and expand to include the health department and local OBGYN clinics. This is an expansion of a 2015 Schweitzer project.

Community site: ECU School of Dental Medicine pOHP Clinic and ECU OBGYN Clinic

ECU School of Medicine

John Hurley and Leslie Hopper

John and Leslie are developing a mentorship and support program for veterans with PTSD. Pilot to focus on linking ECU faculty veterans with veterans with PTSD.

Community site: Operation Re-Entry, the Vet Center, REAL Crisis Center, local PTSD support groups, Vietnam Veterans Hut

Anna Laughman and Emily Cunningham

Anna and Emily are launching a pesticide poison prevention program in Wilson County farms.

Community site: North Carolina Agromedicine Institute

NCCU School of Education – Communication Disorders

Masanao Sato and Catherine Harris

Mas and Catherine are providing male caretakers enrolled in a literacy program the skills necessary to promote their children’s literacy development.

Community site: Durham Literacy Center

NCCU School of Social Work

Karen White

Karen is leading diabetes education workshops for patients in a substance abuse program.

Community site: Freedom House (Durham location)

UNC School of Dentistry

Erica Afanador and Ivette Landrian

BCBSNC Foundation Schweitzer Fellows

and Durham Tech Community College Translation/Interpreter Program

Erica and Ivette are providing translation services to pregnant patients at the pOHP clinic with the intent to roll out to general dentistry clinics.

Community site: Prenatal Oral Health Program (pOHP) Clinic at the UNC School of Dentistry

Haldis Andersen and Heather Newman

BCBSNC Foundation Schweitzer Fellows

Haldis and Heather are helping people who are struggling with substance abuse and mental illness by expanding an on-site oral health care clinic and incorporating dental hygiene students into the oral health education programming.

Community site: UNC Health Care’s Wakebrook Facility

Carli Antor and Jamie L. Molina

BCBSNC Foundation Schweitzer Fellows

Carli and Jamie are providing oral health care training and personal care plans for adult with intellectual and physical disabilities and their caregivers in a residential group home setting and address oral health occupational therapy needs. This is an extension of a 2013 Fellowship project.

Community site: Residential Services Inc.

UNC School of Medicine

Herodes Guzman

Herodes is helping diabetic patients manage their disease by teaching healthy lifestyle changes through group visits and education and an insulin clinic outreach.

Community site: Piedmont Health Services at Carrboro

Anna Kahkoska and Nicholas Brazeau

Anna and Nick are helping diabetic patients manage their disease by teaching healthy lifestyle changes through group visits and education.

Community site: Open Door Clinic in Burlington

Shimena Li and Judd Heideman

Shimena and Judd are helping uninsured Latinos manage their chronic diseases by providing healthy living workshops and provide longitudinal support of participants while exploring and addressing social aspects influencing their disease. This is an expansion of a 2015 Schweitzer project.

Community site: Our Lady of Guadalupe Free Clinic

A. Brad Thompson and Lauren Cox

Brad and Lauren are helping diabetic patients manage their disease by teaching healthy lifestyle changes through group visits and education. This is an expansion of a 2015-16 Schweitzer project.

Community site: MAHEC Cane Creek Family Health Center

Wake Forest School of Medicine

Vaidehi Mujumdar and Rachel Shenker

Vaidehi and Rachel are leading a cancer prevention program for adolescents with an emphasis on initiating the HPV vaccine series.

Community site: Forsyth County Public Schools

Shane Stone and Shannon Schroeder

Shane and Shannon are developing a support outreach to foster children affected by adult substance/alcohol abuse.

Community site: Downtown Health Plaza