How REACH Builds Healthier Communities
REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) is a national program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. In 2018, Penn State College of Medicine was one of the recipients of the REACH awards to work with the communities of Lebanon and Berks counties. […]
ADMINISTRATION LEBANON BERKS
ADMINISTRATION
Andrea Murray, Project Director
- Prior to working at Penn State College of Medicine I had the privilege of working for the Pennsylvania Women, Infants and Children program as a Public Health Nutritionist and Certified Lactation Councilor. Currently, I also serve as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute. As the Community Engagement Coordinator, my role is to help facilitate community participation in all stages of research, identify key research opportunities and support the development of useful research tools. I foster strong relationships for research collaboration between community health providers, policymakers and academic researchers to improve research-based practice and stimulate practice-based research.
- As the Project Manager of the REACH I create collaborative partnerships focused on improving health outcomes at a community level in Lebanon and Reading, Pennsylvania. By building a project infrastructure and workflow with the help of community members and community organizations, locally tailored practice- and evidence-based strategies related to nutrition, physical activity, and community-clinical linkages are tailored to reflect the needs of these specific communities.
Email: amurray3@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Laurie Crawford, Project Manager
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My background in Parks and Recreation gave me experience in working with green spaces, parks, outdoor recreation and physical activity. I have experience in nutrition through education in school, school gardens and community gardens.
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I have enjoyed learning more about public health, vulnerable populations and developing strategies to improve these challenges. What I enjoy most is learning from my team members, they have enriched my life.
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I enjoy watching the REACH supported projects come to life. The new parks in Lebanon, the Walk with a Doc in Berks and the Lebanon Bicycle Recycle have lasting impact and uplift our community. It is amazing to witness and be part of the process.
Email: lcrawford4@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Dr. Jennifer Kraschnewski, MD
- I’m thrilled to help lead the REACH project! We have a fantastic team who is dedicated to helping advance healthy nutrition, physical activity and community and clinical linkages for our Hispanic communities in Lebanon and Berks counties.
- I’m passionate about improving community health! Following my medical training as a primary care physician, I earned a degree in public health to develop my skills in this area. Patients spend the vast majority of their lives outside of the clinical setting and community factors greatly impact our health. I’m interested in how engaging community stakeholders and organizations can help people live healthier. Our team has been partnering with Lebanon through Better Together for the last four years. Our REACH project builds on these outstanding relationships. Thank you for your interest in our work and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to see how you or your organization might get involved. We’re always interested in working with new community partners!
Email: jkraschnewski@pennstatehealth.psu.edu | Twitter: @jlkrasch
Dr. William Calo, PhD
- I want to promote the uptake of culturally-relevant interventions in community settings, with the aim of improving healthy eating, physical activity and diabetes prevention in central Pennsylvania. Working with local partners, I want to examine how these interventions work, for whom and under what circumstances.
- I am a Latino health services researcher with the goal of designing and implementing culturally-relevant interventions to improve community health among diverse populations in central Pennsylvania. I have over 10 years of experience working with minority groups and community and healthcare organizations on several projects related to chronic disease prevention and health policy.
Bilingual: English/Español
Betsy Aumiller, MEd, DEd
- I am excited to be involved in the REACH initiative as the project evaluator! We have interesting projects underway to address improved physical activity, healthy nutrition and connections between communities and clinical care in Lebanon and Berks counties. We are eager to see the outcomes for these communities!
- I am a health educator that loves teaching and working with community members, patients and graduate students to address factors related to learning and health behavior change. I have doctoral degree in education and have worked in a number of community settings examining the effectiveness of educational programming. Our team cares deeply about developing experiences with individuals and communities that will encourage healthy behaviors for a lifetime. Please consider us a resource to you or your organization – we would love to work with you!
Darilyn Rivera, MS, Project Coordinator
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Darilyn Rivera-Collazo earned her bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and her master’s degree in Epidemiology from the University of Puerto Rico- Medical Sciences Campus. Currently, she is working as Project Coordinator for the Penn State College of Medicine REACH project (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) team. REACH works to reduce health disparities in the Hispanic/Latino communities in Lebanon and Berks County. Darilyn has worked with vulnerable populations, such as HIV patients, and has experience working with FQHCs for a colorectal cancer study where she educated participants about the importance of getting screened and the risk factors for colorectal cancer. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Darilyn had the opportunity to work as a contact tracer. This experience led her to call citizens affected by COVID-19 where she completed a survey for each citizen which included symptoms and potential transmission sites visited. Darilyn was responsible for determining their estimated isolation period, explain the possibility of co-infections to cases with prolonged symptoms, and inform the contacts about their quarantine period. Darilyn’s professional and cultural background has provided the REACH team with much-needed support to identify and address community health needs with passion, knowledge, and dedication.
Email: driveracollazo@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Bilingual: English/Español
Janelle Gomez, Project Coordinator
- My Exercise Science degree has driven my passion to work and support research projects that implement physical activity and healthy living. I work alongside an amazing team to help develop, design, and coordinate project materials and programs. I assists with disseminating information through Spanish translation and interpretation among various projects. Through my experience I have been able to provide technical support through research studies, ensure safe practices are exhibited in decisions, and advance in my communication and interpersonal skills. My goal is to improve the health of society as a whole through the promotion of healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. When I’m not working, you can normally find me outside soaking in the sun in any fun outdoor activity or taking a nap with my dog!
Email: jgomez@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Bilingual: English/Español
Erika Mollo, MScN, Project Coordinator
- Before becoming a Project Coordinator for REACH, I worked for Americorps as a Nutrition Educator in Washington. As well as a Nutrition Educator for Feeding PA’s Healthy Pantry Initiative. I enjoy being active in the community and learning about local food and health systems. Connecting these resources to community members that face social barriers, expanding and helping to create inclusive methods of bringing better nourishment and well being to those who need it.
- I am passionate about holistic nutrition, health and sustainability practices. I am looking forward to developing and designing REDCap projects and providing accessible education in order to have equitable community outcomes.
Email: emollo@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Madeline Bermúdez, REACH Community Health Worker
- I previously worked in Lancaster helping low income families in the community with providing with resources offered in their communities; such as utility assistance, childcare assistance, Headstart, WIC, Senior center, domestic violence services.
- In my current role as a Community Health Worker for Lebanon County, my goal is to connect with the Hispanic community and establish a relationship with them and offer services in the following areas:
· Nutrition
· Physical Activity
· Community linkages - You can contact me for resources, connecting with the REACH Team, and events.
Email: mbermudez2@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Bilingual: English/Español
Sunderland Baker, Project Coordinator
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I am a public health science and mathematical biology graduate from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO, though I am originally from southeast Pennsylvania. I have held several roles in the past and concurrently that center around community health, epidemiology/modeling, data visualization, health education, and youth empowerment. Earlier on, I was a youth consultant and served on the comprehensive human sexuality education (HB19-1032) oversight committee at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. I then transitioned to more locally impactful work as a public health analyst employing ArcGIS and data analysis techniques in the opioid use and prevention division of the Community Health Partnership in Colorado Springs, CO.
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Since then, I have expanded my efforts back to my roots here in Pennsylvania. Last year, I was a community health intern with Penn State Health/Safe Kids Dauphin County emphasizing pediatric bicycle and pedestrian safety education among local police departments. I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the REACH team, as I can borrow from experience and endeavor myself in initiatives that I am passionate about, such as food access, COVID-19 vaccination efforts, physical activity promotion, and geospatial data visualization/communication, all to better the holistic well-being of Hispanic/Latino families of Pennsylvania.
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