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Beginning in May 2023, students at ɫ�ش�ý (DUSON) will have the opportunity to participate in weeklong immersion experiences in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina, thanks to a $3.9 million award from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

, associate professor, and her team at DUSON received a cooperative agreement award that will establish the Mobile Prevention and Care Team (M-PACT) Clinic and provide care and health promotion activities to urban underserved and rural populations in North Carolina including Granville, Vance, Harnett and Pamlico counties. Priority populations also include veterans; homeless and low-income people in Durham and Latino immigrants through the Mexican consulate in Raleigh. The four-year renewable cooperative agreement will also allow for an array of support efforts to educate and train instructors and students about social determinants of health (SDOH) – the external conditions in which people are born, live, work and age – and how they present and be effectively mitigated in these communities in particular.

“We really wanted to bring this kind of educational opportunity to our faculty, staff and students,” Biederman said. She notes that the award offers three main instructional avenues: the M-PACT scholars program, didactic training using case studies to infuse SDOH into the ABSN curriculum and continuing professional development for faculty and staff that addresses health equity and health literacy via interactive theater.

Pervasive poverty and lack of transportation are two major SDOH that affect rural NC. “Folks in rural areas have fewer resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle than those in more urban areas, where you have more access to healthy foods, gyms, and sidewalks,” said Heather Mountz, MPH, CPH, D-Community Health Improvement Partnership Program (D-CHIPP) coordinator, who is assisting Biederman in the launch of the program. Offering a free mobile clinic helps these isolated and underserved populations access health care and resources that can improve health outcomes.

DUSON will partner with Durham Technical Community College who will provide a mobile van unit for the excursion and immersion events. The clinical excursions will be to sites within 90 minutes of Durham with weeklong immersion programs farther away. Along with the van, pop-up tents will be used to draw people to the site, where they will be able to get physical assessments, screenings, referrals and educational materials.  The van has an exam table to allow for physical examinations and private consults.

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However, the mobile clinic is not dependent on the van. “The idea of a mobile clinic doesn’t mean you have to have a clinic with wheels on it,” Biederman said. “A mobile clinic could also mean going to a church or high school and providing services for four hours on a Tuesday afternoon after the PTA meeting.” Another facet of the funding includes hiring a RN who will work at Granville-Vance Public Health. The RN will partner with a nurse practitioner to extend access to medical care via telemedicine technology.

The M-PACT Clinic scholars program will comprise of six cohorts of 10 students each over the life of the cooperative agreement. ABSN students can apply in January 2023 for scholar