Students Commit to Poverty Education- Eight-week program immerses students in disadvantaged communities
For eight weeks this past summer, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLC) hosted four students who interned at Cleveland Clinic as part of their academic studies around poverty.
Elizabeth Heller and Amanda Smith worked at Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center, located in East Cleveland, helping our Quality & Patient Safety caregivers evaluate data and process improvements. Julie Sklar and Issac Domenech focused on people struggling with addiction, rotating at the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Drug Court and Lutheran Hospital.
Elizabeth, Amanda, Julie and Issac are four of about a hundred students across the country who participate each year in the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty summer internship program. The students are matched with sponsoring organizations that serve vulnerable populations, such as Cleveland Clinic, and spend the summer learning about poverty and working with professionals whose goal is community improvement.