The Center for Healthy Communities at the UC Riverside School of Medicine has announced the recipients of its Community Medicine and Population Health Mini-Grant program.

The 2020 recipients are:

• UnDocuHealth Ambassadors Program
  
  Led by Marlene Chavez Martinez, the program will train and equip a team of 10 immigrant individuals from San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to advocate for preventative health care that is accessible to all. The goal of the project is to increase the use of available medical programs and clear any uncertainties about public charge, I.C.E. in hospitals, and other misinformation that may deter the undocumented population from seeking medical treatment.
• Donor Milk Depot for the Inland Empire: A Needed Intervention for Enhancing Maternal and Infant Health
  
  The project is focused on reducing the risk of neonatal infants developing infections as a result of being formula fed by establishing the first donor milk depot for the Inland Empire. The goal of the project is to collect donated milk and redistribute it amongst the Inland Empire to local hospitals, mothers who cannot produce breast milk on their own, and the fathers who are the primary caretakers of their babies.

“I’m passionate about identifying ways to improve the health of the public," said Director of Community Engagement and Outreach for the Center for Healthy Communities Michelle C. Burroughs, M.P.H. "The Community Medicine and Population Health Mini-Grant Program was designed to create an opportunity for medical, graduate students, fellows and residents to develop innovation programs that serve the Inland Southern California communities, by addressing the social and health disparities that contribute to poor health outcomes in our region.”

The mini-grant program engages medical students, graduate students, residents and fellows of the UCR in service and advocacy projects within the Inland Empire communities. To date, grant members have provided essential support to a number of community health initiatives ranging from providing important health information to isolated communities to arranging access to preventative care and medical services to the underserved and homeless populations.

The 2020-2021 Mini-Grant review committee consisted of:

• Michelle Burroughs, director, Community Engagement and Outreach for the Center for Healthy Communities
• Marci Coffey, director of Community Relations at Inland Empire Health Plan
• Andrew Subica, assistant professor in the Department of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health at UCR School of Medicine
• Shene Bowie-Hussey, vice president of health strategies at Riverside Community Health Foundation
• Alicia Burris, continuous quality improvement analyst & co-director of LACE at UCR School of Medicine
• Jorge Delos Santos, director of programs & prevention at TruEvolution Inc.
• Marina Carbajal, junior project manager at UCR Health System
• Tilak Patel, finance & administrative fellow at UCR School of Medicine