How Does Asthma Make You Feel?

Post written by Thu Nguyen

Thu serves at Respiratory Health Association
as an Asthma Educator

“Scared.”       “Worried.”      “Like I can’t do anything.”

Leading a FAN class at a CPS school

Those are the most common responses I hear when I ask students about how having asthma makes them feel. It’s quite heartbreaking for me.  A child shouldn’t have to constantly worry about their chronic condition or feel incapable of doing things other children can do. While I have read so many research articles and facts about the dangers and importance of managing asthma, the students’ responses give me a tangible reason why I am spending a year serving as a Chicago Health Corps member.

As an asthma educator for Respiratory Health Association, I travel throughout the Chicagoland area to teach asthma education to students and adults. However, the best part of my day is coming to a school and teaching our Fight Asthma Now (FAN) class to asthmatic students.  In the FAN curriculum, we teach students about asthma warning signs, the respiratory system, asthma triggers, and proper medication administration. We stress the importance of carrying an inhaler at all times and using a spacer, a chamber that is added on to the inhaler to ease the delivery of the medication, whenever possible.

Student remembering her inhaler and spacer at school!

As I was leaving a school last week, a student chased after me to show me that she’s carrying her inhaler AND spacer at school. It overwhelms me with joy when students apply what I’ve taught them in FAN class. Our students walk out of FAN class feeling more comfortable and confident about managing their asthma, and I hope to continue accomplishing this goal throughout the year.

Learn more about asthma: http://www.lungchicago.org/asthma/

Pop-Up Food Pantry Provides Food to 75+ Families

 

 

 

 

Post written by CHC Member Suzanne Williams

Suzanne serves at Erie Family Health as a Health Educator

Healthy Kids Market at Henson Elementary

Every other Tuesday, a “pop-up” food pantry takes place at Henson Elementary School, an Erie Family Health Center site, serving over 75 Henson student families. This pantry, the Healthy Kids Market, is a collaboration between the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Chicago Public Schools, designed to provide nutritious foods to students and families. As a Chicago Health Corps member serving with Erie, I help implement and facilitate this market. I set-up and restock food, help clients choose the foods that they will use at home, and also lead cooking demonstrations utilizing the food that is provided that day.  

These food demonstrations help clients to think of new and creative ways to utilize the foods that are available to them. The first time I served at Healthy Kids Market, I showed clients how to make orange juice from fresh oranges. By offering and demonstrating the use of fresh fruits and vegetables, we promote the consumption of fresh, nutritious foods to our clients. In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, we also offer a variety of shelf-stable foods, such as cereal, rice, pasta, and oatmeal.

I was excited by how grateful and appreciative the clients were to have access to the food pantry. Clients also really appreciated the food demonstrations and taste tests. They discussed how they used the food items from the pantry to supplement their SNAP benefits, and how these items were essential to providing nutritious food to their families. I loved the opportunity to help out with such an awesome program, and I look forward to being a part of future Healthy Kids Markets.

Are You in the Loop? CHC Member Karen Yocky is...

As if our members don't serve the community enough already, CHC member Karen Yocky went above and beyond to write a guest blog post for the Sex-Ed Loop about School-Based Health Centers.  Karen serves at Erie Family Health as a Health Educator in a School-Based Health Center.

Click HERE to check out her post.

The Sex-Ed Loop is Chicago’s Destination for Reliable Youth Sex Education is a place for all Chicago youth to get comprehensive, medically accurate and up-to-date information on their sexual health needs. The Loop is a Chicago Public Schools project that provides sexual health education outside of the classroom using a website, texting, Facebook and Twitter.

Are you in the Loop?  Chicago Health Corps is, you should be too!

Female Condoms Included in HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign





Post written by CHC member Marissa Baranowski

Marissa serves at Respiratory Health Association as an Asthma Educator






Heeey Ladies!!
CHC member Sydney Weydemeyer & HCC
 member Caitlin Donato handing out condom
kits at the Brown Line Kimbal stop.



Bright and early on November 30th, the Chicago Health Corps and our sister AmeriCorps program, Healthy Community Corps, were out in full force commemorating World AIDS Day!  As part of the larger Chicago Community Condom Project sponsored by the Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago Health Corps members gave out free safe sex kits at ‘L’ stops throughout the city. These safe sex kits included both male and female condoms.  In total, 100,000 free condoms were distributed! 

Now you might be asking yourself, what exactly is a female condom? 

Just like the male condom, it is a barrier method of birth control.  Female condoms are made of nitrile, making them a fantastic option for those with latex allergies, and are shaped like an open-ended tube.  Using them is a great way to prevent unintended pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), like HIV.  In fact, the female condom may be preferable to reduce the transmission of STIs spread by skin-to-skin contact, such as herpes or genital warts, as it can cover more surface area than the male condom. Above all, they give the receptive partner choice and control!


Female Condoms stay in place using
a removable inner ring and attached
outer ring.



Chicago Health Corps loved partnering with the Chicago Department of Public Health to commemorate World AIDS Day and help spread awareness!  To learn more about female condoms or get involved with the Chicago Community Condom Project, visit:

Chicago Female Condom Campaign Site

Chicago Community Condom Project Site

Public Transportation as a View into Public Health in Chicago

 

 

 

 

Post written by CHC member Jenny Carson

Jenny is serving as a Colorectal Cancer Screening Health Educator with the  American Cancer Soceity's Statewide Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative




 Serving as a Chicago Health Corps member, I feel a commitment to better understand the vast communities and cultures that make up the social fabric of the Chicago Metropolitan area.  Since moving to Chicago, I read about the history of Chicago’s neighborhoods, in order to better understand why “the neighborhood effect” and disparities continue to exist.  The conditions of each neighborhood have major effects on that community, impacting mortality and chronic disease rates, health behaviors, and violence. 

One of the most apparent, yet often overlooked, public health challenges can be observed during my daily commute. I witness how neighborhoods shape behaviors and influence the health of the diverse population getting on and off public transit. I wrote a sequence of words that describe what I see out my window on my daily commute as I move  from a Chicago northwest neighborhood off the CTA Blue Line to the free clinic I serve at off the green line in a Chicago southwest neighborhood. 

Coffee steam, Hipsters, glasses,  Newspapers, Greek Yogurt, Pea coats, scarves, brief cases, Students, human sardines, tunnels, escalators, stairs,pigeons,my watch, head phones, Bulls hat, Hip-Hop, Dunkin Donuts, trackssss, feel the sway, skyline, U.S. Cellular Field, my skin color, FlaminHots, grocery store?, corner stores, strollers, Cop Cars, parking lots, security guards, sliding doors. . .  Medical Home      

The health of a community starts with an assessment of how the physical, social, and service environment of the neighborhood affects health behaviors. The physical environment of a neighborhood, which includes the “built environment” (i.e. infrastructure) and natural environment (i.e. trees, flowers), combined with the social environment (i.e. relationships among residents), affects the neighborhood residents’ health risks and behaviors. For example, pollution and high crime rates in a neighborhood often leads to low exercise rates, increased drug and alcohol use, and lack of healthy role models.  A neighborhood’s service environment, including availability of employment, good schools, and transportation resources, can affect whether residents smoke, have healthy diets, and practice safe sex.

HEALTH is all around us, including much more than feeling ill and trying to exercise.  The next time you commute, or simply sit in a public space, look up and take in your environment.  In order to preserve the health of future populations, we must change our daily behaviors and evaluate the health of every community with a holistic assessment.  What will you notice?  

For more information on the neighborhood effect in Chicago, check out this book from the University of Chicago press “The Great American City: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect.”

Projects such as the Smart Chicago Collaborative: Chicago Health Atlas will help us evaluate communities to improve care.

Also check out a study of 77 of Chicago’s Neighborhoods conducted by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in collaboration with Chicago Department of Public Health and Aetna, Inc., documenting the health of residents and resources in Chicago neighborhoods.   

Shopping for Health

Post written by CHC member Casey Strickler

Casey is a serving as a Health Educator at Erie Family Health Center in Humboldt Park

Diet and nutrition are some of the most important yet challenging aspects of our health. However, a healthy diet is vital to preventing or controlling diabetes. However, for anyone who has tried to break or change a habit, changing a diet can be one of the most difficult aspects of life to change. To help facilitate this change, I lead the program Shopping Matters at Erie Family Health Center in Humboldt Park. This program brings individuals to grocery stores to help them understand easy ways to make healthy decisions while shopping. At the end of this 2-hour program, we give participants $10 to spend at the store to test their new knowledge.

Most Erie Humboldt Park patients are best served in Spanish and have moved to the U.S. from other countries. This creates a challenge when navigating grocery stores and managing diet and nutrition. In their home countries, patients may have had access to space for a garden, but when switching to U.S. food sources, patients begin to replace their natural vegetable garden with processed sodium-infused fast or frozen foods.

Those recently diagnosed with diabetes often report that they have never read a food label before in their life and are on a tight budget when shopping for food. During Shopping Matters, we aim to address both the nutrition and financial challenges. We discuss with participants how to buy fruits and vegetables in season, so they can save money while still getting 5 servings of vegetables and fruits every day. We also explain that participants should only buy bread or tortillas where the very first ingredient is “whole grains” in order to get all the nutrients one’s body needs. In the dairy aisle, we compare low fat cheeses and milks, showing participants that skim milk, unflavored almond milk, or unflavored soy milk are the best options to avoid high levels of fat and maintain low amounts of sugar.  Similarly, knowing to buy beans without added salt, or unflavored yogurt to avoid high levels of sugar are all vital steps to both prevent and manage diagnoses like diabetes or hypertension. Thanks to programs like Shopping Matters, we can help patients change their habits and navigate more healthy choices.

 For more information on the health programs Erie Family Health has to offer click here.

Smart Health Chicago - Service Day

Blackline Review, a publication that targets start up entrepreneurs, caught wind of the Smart Chicago and Chicago Health Corps Service Day that was held Friday, November 2nd.  

We had massive brainstorm session with all of the 2012-2013 CHC members and Smart Chicago staff to improve the new IT Health Navigation Site.  Watch this video to learn more about this exciting new Chicago initiative.  Some great minds at work here!

Shout out to Casey for rocking this interview!! 

For more information check out Smart Chicago Collaborative's Website HERE!

Truck Farm Chicago Passes Out 2,000 Tomatoes During Second Season

Post written by CHC member Sydney Weydemeyer:

As a successful second season comes to a close, Truck Farm Chicago has passed out a lot of tomatoes! At almost every Truck Farm Chicago visit, truck farmers pass out freshly-picked tomatoes for people to taste.  After visiting more than 2,600 people at 60 sites over the 7 month season, that is over 2000 tomatoes! Quite a feat considering Truck Farm is a project directed and run just by one Chicago Health Corps AmeriCorps member, Sydney Weydemeyer and one Farmer Tim, with the help of a few wonderful volunteers and interns.

Truck Farm Chicago is a non-profit project of Seven Generations Ahead and Green Sugar Press. A mini farm planted in the bed of pickup truck named Petunia, Truck Farm engages both youth and adults in conversations about food and health. Truck Farm visits schools, libraries, park districts, businesses, community organizations and festivals teaching people about eating healthy, growing their own healthy food, and getting outside and staying active!

Kids trying tomatoes.

Farmer Tim at The Children's School in Oak Park discussing seed saving.

Combining numbers from the first and second seasons, Truck Farm Chicago has visited over 5,300 people in the Chicagoland area! Petunia's been all over the city, from Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse in Irving Park and Centers for New Horizons in Bronzeville, to Energy BBDO, Gary Comer Youth Center, Respiratory Health Association, the Kids Table, and countless Chicago schools. Truck Farm is small, but mighty!

For more information, or how you can bring Truck Farm to your school next season, visit www.truckfarmchicago.org.

Farmer Sydney, Chicago Health Corps member, sporting her AmeriCorps gear while leading a visit at Lloyd Elementary.

The kids at Centers for New Horizons give a big goofy thanks to our funder friends at Ernst & Young!

A girl laughs at a funny vegetable joke by Farmer Tim (one of the few laughs we got during the season for our veggie jokes)

CHC now on Flickr!!

Hey everyone!  We now have a Flickr - to check out our photos go here:

CHC Flickr

A Flickr link will be added to our blog soon!

The Spooky Truth

Post written by CHC member Amber Adams:

It is November 1^st and American households are now stocked with candy treats, costumes are tucked away, and the haunted and scary festivities for this holiday season have come to an end. However, for many individuals seen at Heartland Health Center’s Wilson Clinic, the reality of “spooky” and scary truths, such as intimidating doctor visits, frustrations due to the inability to understand health information, and confusing procedures and diagnoses, extends well past the Halloween holiday.  

Many of the individuals seen at Heartland Health Center’s Wilson clinic are refugees. While fleeing their homelands in pursuit of safety, they immediately undergo a strenuous resettlement process upon arrival to the U.S. Within the first 30 days, refugees are required to complete a number of tasks to promote self-sufficiency and cultural adjustment, including learning to speak English.

Due to language barriers and differences in culture, many refugees need interpretation and further explanation concerning their medical care. My service term with Heartland Health Centers provides me the opportunity to assist with this need. I offer 1-on-1 nutrition counseling to patients and create cultural competency and health literacy tools to address some of the complicated health procedures and diagnoses for Wilson’s diverse patient population. Most refugees in Chicago come from Burma, Bhutan, Iraq, Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, according to the Heartland Alliance. 

To no surprise, with the cultural shock and overwhelming tasks refugees’ transition, grocery shopping for low-calorie foods or making sure to get all 5 food groups in with each meal may fall lower on their priority list.  However, the shocking reality that some patients do not understand health information and instructions given by physicians, and that information is so easily misinterpreted or lost in translation, makes my service an essential part of making sure our patients have access to the necessary healthcare information.

While I enjoy thinking up the perfect Halloween costume and anticipating the reaction to what I’ve brought to life another year, I’m glad my creativity is not limited to just this holiday season.  With much excitement and pleasure, I am able to design health educational tools, bulletin boards, and provide culturally competent resources that patients can read, understand, and act on concerning their health. This makes me proud, humbled, and happy to serve.

“The true way to render ourselves happy is to love our work and find in it our pleasure”

-Francoise de Motteville

CHC to Partner with Smart Chicago Collaborative

On Friday, November 2, 2012, the Smart Chicago Collaborative will partner with the Chicago Health Corps to introduce the Smart Health Center pilot project to community members in Humboldt Park and patients of Erie Family Health Center. The Smart Chicago Collaborative has partnered with the City of Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology, the Otho S. A. Sprague Institute, Alliance of Chicago and the Erie Family Health Center to create the Smart Health Centers project. This pilot places trained health information specialists— known as Health IT Navigators— in non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) clinics to assist low-income patients in connecting to their own medical records and finding reliable information about their own conditions. Smart Health Centers will target residents in digitally- and medically-underserved communities. The most immediate goal of the project is to expand access to online health and wellness information. Another goal is better identification and aggregation of trusted online health information, including a set of identified Web-based resources and tools that can be promoted to consumers.

About the Smart Chicago Collaborative

The Smart Chicago Collaborative is a civic organization devoted to using technology to make lives better in Chicago. We were formed to address the challenge of the lack of broadband Internet access for all Chicagoans. More broadly, we work to apply the transformative power of technology to solve problems for the people of Chicago. We are a startup that was founded in part by our municipal government and nurtured by some of its most venerable institutions. Our founding partners are the City of Chicago, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The Chicago Community Trust. As a funding collaborative, we help bring together municipal, philanthropic, and corporate investments in civic innovation. For more information, please contact Executive Director Daniel X. O’Neil at 312-565-2867. www.smartchicagocollaborative.org

 

 

Lessons in Health Literacy

Post written by CHC Member Melissa Rothman:

        Health literacy, or the capacity to understand health information and services, make informed decisions about your health, and follow instructions for treatment, is a serious issue contributing to health disparities today. Even if patients with low health literacy can pay for their doctors’ visits, they may struggle with taking the correct pill at the correct time of day because they cannot read the directions on the prescription bottle.  They may consent to surgeries or procedures that they do not understand. This can be as traumatic as learning post-surgery you unknowingly consented to a procedure.

While not all health literacy complications are as serious as having an organ removed without a patient’s knowledge, misunderstanding health information is still a fundamental issue in our healthcare system.  The US Department of Health identifies “[using] health communication strategies and health information technology (IT) to improve population health outcomes and health care quality, and to achieve health equity[1]” as one of its main goals for 2020.  As a health educator, health literacy is an important theme in my service. The majority of patients I serve are Hispanic, so creating bilingual promotional flyers and class materials is a crucial step towards health literacy.  However, creating materials at the appropriate reading level for patients is also important.  Often, health information pamphlets are written at a college level. As a result, to increase health literacy, creating visual, clear and simple materials is necessary.  For example, to explain to diabetic patients how to balance blood sugar, we use a worksheet with a scale and sugar cube graphic. Many of the diabetic patients that come to our education classes may have been diagnosed with the disease for years, but still do not understand how it works and how to properly control it.  Especially with chronic diseases like diabetes, overcoming health literacy barriers so patients can learn to manage their diagnoses correctly is crucial to patients’ health, wellbeing and happiness.

So far, focusing on health literacy issues at my host site seems to be an area where I can really have an influence. We are encouraged in Chicago Health Corps to take pride in the small changes.  Along with that idea, my latest project is to design nutrition and medication sheets for women coming to the center for prenatal care.  While I may not be making a groundbreaking discovery, if even one patient’s birth outcome is improved because of more accessible nutrition and medication information, I will consider my service a success.

For more information on health literacy, check out these great resources:

·         http://www.npsf.org/for-healthcare-professionals/programs/ask-me-3/

·         http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/03/19/prsa0319.htm

·        http://healthit.ahrq.gov/portal/server.pt/community/health_it_tools_and_resources/919/health_it_literacy_guide/27873

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[1] http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=18

Speaking of the great things that our Chicago Health Corps members are up to...

Check out what aired on WTTW Chicago Tonight.  Click to watch: See what Jenny & Melissa are up to at ACS!! 

The video and article highlight CHC members Jenny Carson and Melissa Akinlawon's service with the American Cancer Society and colorectal cancer screenings.

Enjoy and shout out to Melissa and Jenny - great service!

Health Educators Making Change in the Latino Community

Post written by CHC member Amanda Casas

On Sept. 26, 2012, there was a Latina Health Policy Briefing for Promotores de Salud (Health Promoters) at the White House in Washington, D.C.  The policy briefing reviewed the affordable care act, and also brought together key Latino health care providers, researchers, stakeholders and promotores to discuss successful evidence-based Latino research initiatives utilizing promotores.

Promotores (or health educators), like myself, lead health education programs with topics ranging from diabetes, nutrition, exercise classes, how to better identify and manage depression/stress, etc.  This education is bilingual and can be conducted with individuals or groups.  Promotores can communicate with the patient’s native or preferred language and often identify with culture nuances, they can make a difference in creating awareness, increasing knowledge, and creating a sense of empowerment concerning the patient’s health. Organizations such as my host site, Erie Family Health Center, utilize these valuable promotores to improve the Latino community’s perspective towards health and physical activity.

For more information about the role of promotores in the Latino community or other information about current health issues concerning the Latino community, check out this excellent blog: Salud Today Blog.

“We are not employees, we are not interns. WE ARE MEMBERS. We are not working, we are not volunteering. WE ARE SERVING!"

Post written by CHC Member Melissa Akinlawon:
Anyone can volunteer their time for community service, but it shows a unique type of passion to dedicate an entire year of service to tackle the mission of improving access to health services and addressing health disparities in underdeserved communities. That type of PASSION is what you will encounter with the new members of the 2012-2013 Chicago Health Corps, an AmeriCorps program, part of the National Health Corps.

As we discovered during Pre-Service Orientation (which began September 4^th), we are a diverse, inquisitive, and of course, passionate group of young individuals from all over the country anxious to be pioneers and leave our footprints in the “dirt” of service (it’s not always peachy clean and pretty!). We all have amazing and often quite hilarious background stories—some have lived in exotic countries, others are fanatics for certain music artists, we have some diehard Chicago natives, and even a member otherwise known as “Pollo Frito”! You will definitely have to join us in this year-long journey to meet all of us and hear about our experiences of service at our host sites.
And speaking of host sites….the members of CHC are serving at some truly amazing sites this year, such as:

·         American Cancer Society

·         Erie Family Health Center

·         Heartland International Health Center

·         Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago

·         Seven Generations Ahead

·         Illinois Eye Institute at Princeton Elementary School

This is merely the beginning! We hope you are just as amped as us! But, if you simply cannot contain your excitement until next week’s blog entry then keep in touch via our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Getting To Know Your Site Supervisor- Part 2

Eileen Lowery

Respiratory Health Association, Senior Director Programs

Educational Background: RN, MSN

Interesting Fact: Turtles are one of my favs – see quote below

If you could be any animal, what would be and why? My dog – she is always happy!

What is your favorite song of all time? It’s an album, Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life”

What is your favorite quote? Slow and steady wins the race

Eileen looks forward to working alongside and mentoring an enthusiastic member on a variety of COPD, radon and tobacco programs. She hopes her member will gain a strong passion for advancing lung health awareness and education, an understanding of the elements of program delivery and an appreciation for those living with chronic disease.

Erica Plaisier

Erie Family Health Center, Manager-Community Programs

Educational Background: MS in Health and Exercise Studies from Miami University

Interesting Fact: As a child, I travelled to all 50 states with my family.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would be and why? At this point in my life, I’d take a random island, anywhere. One where I could relax, eat great food, run on the beach and read a book, uninterrupted.

What is your favorite quote? “Be kind and be truthful and your life will be fruitful.”

Erica always looks forward to getting new AmeriCorps members linked in to health promotion programs and services at Erie, and seeing them develop professionally over the course of the service year. She hopes that Erie’s members will have a diverse experience during their service term and get to see first-hand the challenges and triumphs that exist in a public health setting.

Marilyn Winters

Heartland International Health Centers, Director Health Center Operations

Educational Background: AA Medical Assistant, Bachelor Business Management

Interesting Fact: She has run in the Chicago Marathon for the last four years.

What did you always want to be when you grew up?  The Boss

What is your dream meal?  A Meal with no Calories

What is your favorite quote? “When all have been said and done, more has been said than done” Lou Holtz.

Marilyn is looking forward to the development and implementing of a new cultural literacy tool and she hopes her CHC member will acquire an even deeper appreciation and understanding of diverse cultures and how literacy impacts healthcare.

Dulce Quintero

Erie Family Health Center, Adult Care Coordinator

Educational Background: Psychology and Spanish

Interesting Fact: I love our rainbows!

If you could go anywhere in the world where would be and why? I really believe that we should travel the world! I want to go to Japan, Philippines, Peru, and Africa. All over J

What is one thing you are afraid of? Drowning

Dulce is eager to meet to her CHC member and not only welcome her to Erie but ensure she has a great experience. She is hoping her member will leave with a better idea of what their professional passions, goals and commitments will be for their future endeavors.

Carol Hammell

Heartland International Health Center,

Educational Background: BSN, MPH

Interesting Fact: I am an identical twin.

If you could be any animal, what would be and why? A bird because I would love to soar!

What is your favorite quote? “It is what it is.”

Carol is looking forward to her CHC member providing sexual health education to the PE classes. She really hopes her CHC member will have her passions fueled.

Catherine Nwileh- Ibeagha

American Cancer Society-Stroger Hospital, Clinical Patient Navigator

Educational Background: BA-English, MSW

What did you always want to be when you grew up?
A TV newscaster

If you could go anywhere in the world where would be?
Port Harcourt, Nigeria; My son lives there.

If you could be any animal, what would be and why? Elephant. My 2 year old calls it “enefent” and is fascinated by them.

What is your favorite song of all time? “Thou Art Worthy”- El Shaddai

What is your dream meal? Lobster, crab, shrimp, oyster, fresh fish, periwinkles and mussels in my native soup with fufu and some green vegetables on the side.

What is your favorite quote? …For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. So that we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

What is one thing you are afraid of? Really, nothing.

Catherine looks forward to seeing the foundations laid last year being built upon and expanded.  She wishes her CHC member’s vision will be expanded to see the needs within their community and continue to meet those needs.

Sally Goodman

Erie Family Health, Health Promotion Associate

Educational Background: University of Minnesota- Twin Cities; Global Studies- Sustainability in Latin America

Interesting Fact: I did one season of competitive weight lifting in high school. I HATED it J, turns out, I am not very strong.

What did you always want to be when you grew up? A bus driver, not so much after riding the CTA.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would be? Iceland. Beautiful and diverse nature! (hot springs, mountains, glaciers, ect)

If you could be any animal, what would be and why? A lemur. Leaping!

What is your favorite song of all time? “Crocodile Rock”- Elton John

What is your dream meal? Guacamole and fresh tortilla chips; homemade macaroni and cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts; my mom’s peanut butter cake.

 What is your favorite quote? “Well, if it isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” -Kurt Vonnegut

What is one thing you are afraid of? CLOWNS! Yikes.

Sally is really looking forward to being surrounded by young, energetic, bright CHC members.  She hopes members will learn the pros/cons within the public field and will leave feeling impactful and prepared for whatever is next in their lives. She also wants to ensure her members enjoyed their experience and had fun along the way.

Katheryn Stafford-Hudson

Chicago Public Schools, Student Health & Wellness Specialist

Educational Background:  BA - Chicago State University, MPA – Roosevelt University

Interesting Fact:  She was a fork-lift driver in college.

What did you always want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be an elementary school teacher

 If you could be any animal, what would it be? I would be an eagle, because it soars about the earth. What a cool perspective to have.

Katheryn looks forward to watching the vision program expand and developing a process to address students that are referred for follow-up services. Her CHC member speaks Spanish, so she is eager to learn some conversational words/phrases from her and wants her CHC member to understand how to work successfully within a bureaucracy.