Penn Medicine CAREs grants support patient storytelling and community health

Hospitals, some of the busiest places, can also be among the loneliest. 

Amid the din of care teams and clinicians, security and custodial teams, those dealing with illness and hospitalization often feel alone in the crowd. Groups like the Patient Stories Collective help patients and caregivers find the words to reflect and articulate their experiences during hospitalization and illness. 

It is one of 24 groups this quarter that received Penn Medicine CAREs grants to support their work. 

The funds will be used to help train volunteer medical students, who will then be paired with patients referred from palliative care, oncology, family medicine, and social work.

Patients will then be paired with a medical student volunteer who will, over the course of a month, work closely with the patient to explore the narrative shared and finally, transcribe the patient's story. At the end of this experience, patients will receive a copy of their story, and for interested patients, student artists will create an accompanying illustration.

"The aim is to empower patients to tell their stories of their health care experience using their own words. We hope that from storytelling, patients can find greater meaning," said fourth year medical student Isabel Yoon, who added that that the group hopes to work with patients across the health system interested in sharing their stories.

Yoon is joined by co-leads Grace Wu (fourth year medical student), Jennifer Guo (first year medical student), and the group's faculty advisor Amanda Swain, MD, assistant professor of Family Medicine and Community Health and faculty director for UME Medical Humanities Curriculum. 

Other funded projects this quarter will seek to ease the overdose crisis, combat social isolation, and address unmet mental health needs in our communities. For more than 12 years, Penn Medicine faculty, staff, and students have used the Penn Medicine CAREs Grant program to increase the impact their community service activities can have, with more than $1 million in funding powering more than 1,000 projects since the program's inception.

Other projects getting funding this quarter include:

Raising awareness of Narcan training 

Non-fatal overdoses in the Norristown area have increased by almost 20 percent since 2023. The community goals in Norristown, Bridgeport, and King of Prussia include raising public awareness about the opioid crisis and the importance of naloxone (Narcan) in saving lives. Karen Brooks, MSN, RN, Nurse Manager with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, will use the funding to cover the cost of holding community training workshops and providing Narcan kits to participants. Attendees will receive training on how to spot signs of an overdose, safely administer Narcan, and follow up with emergency services.

Combatting veterans' social isolation and chronic illness

Since 2013, the Penn Center for Community Health Workers (PCCHW) has delivered IMPaCT©, a proven approach to improving health and well-being through community health worker (CHW) support. The Renegades, led by lead community health worker Anthony Davis, is a support group for Veterans Administration (VA) patients facing chronic illness and social isolation. 

Although PCCHW's formal partnership with the VA ended in March 2024-after seven years of supporting more than 900 veterans-Anthony and The Renegades remain highly active. They meet during the growing season at Bartram's Garden, run a mentoring program at Guy Bluford Elementary for 7th and 8th graders focused on conflict resolution and career development, and host community outings like bowling, movies, and museum visits. Anthony's funds will cover refreshments, activities, garden tools, and transportation.

Promoting mental health awareness and access to resources 

Leonie Kurzlechner, a second-year medical student, is co-president of the Perelman School of Medicine chapter of the National Association for Mental Illness. Her funding will support mental health first aid training and resources for local schools. Goals include screening for mental health conditions and abuse, connecting students to free social work and psychiatric resources, and training school staff and students in mental health first aid. The aim is to reduce stigma around mental illness, improve access to care, and support Penn Medicine's mission of promoting community well-being.

CAREs grant recipients are selected according to criteria outlined in hospital community needs assessments, which document areas for improving health in the community, from treating substance use disorders, to addressing neighborhood conditions and navigating health systems and beyond. For more information, visit PennMedicine.org/CAREs. To learn more about Penn Medicine's community outreach programs, visit PennMedicine.org/Community.