ACLM awards more than $100,000 in scholarships to underrepresented in medicine (UIM) clinicians tackling chronic disease through lifestyle medicine solutions.
ST. LOUIS, May 29, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) announced 26 awardees of its Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative Scholarship Program to support medical professionals who are working to reduce lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities for high-risk minority and rural-based populations. The HEAL Initiative Scholarship Program is designed to support a diverse healthcare workforce by awarding underrepresented in medicine (UIM) clinicians with need-based scholarships valued at $3,895 each to cover the costs associated with attaining education and certification in lifestyle medicine.
ACLM founded the HEAL Initiative to address lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities through lifestyle medicine solutions. Since its inception in 2020, 80 UIM clinicians from across the United States have been awarded the HEAL Initiative Scholarship and more than 80% of awardees are now certified in lifestyle medicine. HEAL Scholars primarily treat and serve historically medically underserved Black and brown patients and other populations that face barriers to quality healthcare including social drivers of health (SDoH).
"We are proud to fund 26 health equity champions this year," said Beth Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, ACLM president and Harvard Medical School associate professor, part time. "We know that communities in need are at a higher risk for lifestyle-related chronic disease. These scholars don't just have proven experience treating some of the country's most medically underserved groups, but the awardees understand the need to address underlying factors, like food and housing insecurity, that exacerbate lifestyle-related chronic disease."
The HEAL Initiative Scholarship, which is awarded to clinicians who self-identify as Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or Indigenous, is intended to support research that shows that patients from minority backgrounds are more likely to have better health outcomes if their clinician shares their race and ethnicity. Chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes disproportionately affect Black and Latino populations. Thus, there is an urgent need to diversify the workforce with culturally sensitive clinicians who treat patients with evidenced-based lifestyle medicine therapies including food and movement as medicine.
In addition to coursework and preparation for certification in lifestyle medicine, scholarship recipients receive one-year membership in ACLM, virtual registration for ACLM's annual conference, which features pioneers as well as innovators in the field of lifestyle medicine, and American Board of Lifestyle Medicine exam registration fees. Awardees are also invited to join ACLM's HEAL Initiative, a group of 800-plus members from a myriad of medical specialties who are lifestyle medicine and health equity champions. Six times a year, HEAL Initiative co-chairs virtually convene the group, providing a space for an exchange of ideas and innovations to create equitable health solutions with lifestyle medicine at the center.
ACLM will accept applications for the next cohort of HEAL scholars in early 2025.
The 2024 HEAL scholarship recipients are:
Andrea Edwards, RN, MBA
Registered Nurse
Grady Memorial Hospital
Atlanta, GA
Sheena Urdaz, PA-C
Certified Physician Assistant
LA Medical Associates
Wellington, FL
Quintisha Walker, MD, MBA, FACMPE, FAAFP, DipABOM, PRFMCP
Telepsychiatry Physician | Family Medicine Physician
Spring Health Inc.
Saginaw, MI
John Asenjo, DO, MS
Resident Physician
Adventist Health
Tulare, CA
Lauren Little, DO
Physician/Owner
Foundation Direct Family Care
Rocky Face, GA
Olubunmi Oladunjoye, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
Shekita James, FNP
Nurse Practitioner
Emory Healthcare
College Park, GA
Tamika Lott, MD
Family Physician
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Atlanta, GA
Elizabeth Mizelle, DO
Family Physician
Meditique
Missouri City, TX
Jessica Jolly, MHA, MPH, NBC-HWC, CHES, CLSSGB
Program Director, Workforce Development & Operations
Health Center Controlled Network of New York: Health Efficient
Dallas, TX
Jorge Otanez, MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer
TrueCare
San Marcos, CA
Gina Guillaume, MD
Family Medicine Physician
Cascadia Health and Providence
Portland, OR
Briceida Osborne, MS, RD, LDN, CDCES
Clinical Dietitian
Lifestyle Medicine Clinic
Washington, NC
Christopher Brown, MD, MPH
Physician
Adena Regional Medical Center
Westerville, OH
Sheila Clay, FNP-C
Nurse Practitioner
Ascension MI School-based Health Center
Southfield, MI
Ernst Nicanord, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Texas Medical Branch
La Marque, TX
Ruby Thomas, MD, MPH
Physician
City of Atlanta Wellness Center
Atlanta, GA
Manisha Chand, MD
Physician
Cleveland Clinic Florida
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Vonda Ware, MD
OB GYN Physician, Assistant Professor
Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA
Jennifer Seymour, DO
Family Medicine Physician
St. Jude Neighborhood Health Centers
Long Beach, CA
Verena Brown, MD, CSE, NASM-CNC
Pediatrician, Health and Wellness Coach, Nutrition Coach
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Carla Martin, MD
Med/Peds Physician
Providence Community Health Centers
Barrington, RI
Loraine Kanyare, MSN, MPH, RN
Director of Case Management, Occupational Health
Work-Steps
Katy, TX
Devin Bailey, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Founder & CEO
The AFYA Effect Family Healthcare Services
Newport News, Virginia
Kimberly Bibb, MD, DipABOM
Associate Professor
University of Mississippi Medical Center
Clinton, MS
Leticia Alvidrez, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Tepeyac Community Health Center
Denver, CO
About ACLM®
Serving as a transformation catalyst, disruptor of the status quo, and a galvanized force for change, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies, and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine—including food as medicine—in medical education, doing so across the entire medical education continuum, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies. Adding years to lives and life to years, while reining in the alarming, unsustainable trajectory of healthcare spending, is what lifestyle medicine delivers.
Media Contact
Stacia Johnston, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 7189747213, [email protected], https://lifestylemedicine.org/
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine
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