Regional Centers | Southwest

Program Summary
SWAHEC has undergone major changes in the past two years with
many more on the horizon. The Center has seen the entrance and
exit of two directors, the entrance of the present director, changes
in the administrative structure in the host institution, and staff
turnover. Through all this, the Center has maintained a quality
service provision with tremendous expansion in several areas as
well as a noticeable presence in rural and urban communities of
Southwest Oklahoma.

Each year, the Center has met or exceeded the plan of work
objectives. Over and above the plan of work, SWAHEC has
extended beyond the boundaries of current funding to add new
programs and services to the region. SWAHEC is proud of the work
that has been accomplished and is making firm plans to expand,
extend, and improve in the years to come.

Career Exploration and Awareness
This area has shown the most growth, expansion and success in
the past two years. Once SWAHEC had to beg for participants and
preceptors, now they are calling the Center hoping to be a part of
the program or add the program to their communities. There is no
greater compliment or proof of successful programming.

Relationships in the community have strengthened, opening the
door for future collaborations. While this program has shown the
most growth, it also has the most potential for expansion.
However, one staff person cannot feasibly handle the opportunities that are presented throughout the service area due to budgetary and time constraints. Future plans include securing funding for additional staff, travel and supplies to ensure communities and youth have the opportunities to learn and get excited about health careers.

Summer Day Camps
For one week each summer SWAHEC hosts a resident science camp for eight and ninth grade students. The participants go out in the field and collect water samples from area lakes, ponds, streams, drinking water sources, pools and other water sources and bring them back to the laboratory for testing to determine “What is that stuff in the water?” The participants, under the supervision of science mentors, learn about testing for and recognizing various coliforms and pathogens. The camp is free and is provided by grant awarded by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for students that are interested in science and would like a hands-on, educational, fun-filled summer camp. Participants experience classroom/lab activities and explore health careers.
Contact:
Beth Young
Healthcare Career Coordinator
Swathe
(580) 581-2281

Program Highlights

• Exploration numbers consistently increase annually. Kids are truly getting good exposure to health careers through job shadowing, mentoring, and exploration. SWAHEC provides more exploration hours per student across the board. Outstanding collaborations have made this expansion possible; with their help, SWAHEC is able to reach more kids at the same funding rate.
• The numbers of school systems and willing preceptors have doubled the past two years. Both are calling SWAHEC independently requesting to be a part of the program. Relationships between the center and the communities in the region have strengthened due to our reputation of having a solid program.
• Many new partnerships have opened the doors to new ventures. Both major hospitals in the region have asked SWAHEC to provide their job shadowing program. The largest school system in the region has asked SWAHEC to provide exploration hours to their gifted and talented children, totaling 150 hours per student. The host institution’s Upwards Bound program collaborates with SWAHEC to provide 400 exploration hours per student enrolled in their program. These are just a few of the many new opportunities SWAHEC has pursued and worked hard to obtain.
• Awareness activities have increased annually. SWAHEC is a visible fixture in career fairs, health fairs, classrooms, and public events informing and educating youth on health careers and healthy living.
• Developed “Club Scrub” program for youth designed to improve and strengthen the health care cluster through awareness and job shadowing. The program is an incredible success. Two years ago the program was offered in Sayre and Arapaho only, now there are eight total programs in Southwest Oklahoma and many more across the country, following SWAHEC’s model. This program gives youth an opportunity to explore health career possibilities while having fun. A quarterly newsletter has had a tremendous affect on marketing of the program.
• Collaborated on Camp Round Up. This summer camp, for ages 7-16, is being offered to single parent and under privileged kids due to a large networking “web of partners” in Southwest Oklahoma. All partners see the value of such a camp and SWAHEC takes full advantage to ensure that all kids are exposed to health careers during their stay. Over 2000 kids have participated in the camp the past two years; the numbers are expected to increase each year.
• The YMCA Camp takes place in Lawton every year from June to August. While the camp is open to all children, regardless of socio-economic background or ethnicity, over 66% of attendees are African American from a lower socio-economic background. The already existing program offers SWAHEC the chance to educate a group of students over an eight week period that would not have otherwise been exposed to health careers.
• Assisted in the development of Camp K.I.D.S., a math and science camp on the campus of Cameron University for elementary aged underprivileged students. SWAHEC incorporated health careers awareness activities over the five days as well as support math and science learning activities.
• Staff serves on numerous councils, advisory boards and board of directors throughout the Southwest Oklahoma region, making SWAHEC a viable partner in future ventures.

Rural Health
Service provision in the rural health program is as diverse as the population served. Not only does SWAHEC assist medical and physician assistant students with their clinical rotations, they also provide rural communities with a wide variety of community programs and services that residents would not have had the opportunity to attend otherwise. Strong community involvement has opened many new doors, giving SWAHEC the ability to actively participate in non-traditional arenas.

Each year SWAHEC receives a fixed number of medical students to place in rural rotations; last year that number doubled. With the increase in students, preceptors had to handle the extra load, staff time commitment to the program doubled, and administrative support increased as well. Through it all, the program year successfully ended with little or no battle scars to speak of, quite a feat when realizing a double in work load.

Program Highlights

• Doubled the number of placements for rural clinical rotations; this includes students, preceptors, and time all without a break in service.
• Developed strong collaboration with the local residency program. SWAHEC provides guest speakers, polycom technology, opportunities to work in a voluntary free clinic, support and assistance to the program.
• Assisted in opening the Great Plains Voluntary Health Clinic, a voluntary free clinic serving regional communities. Since inception there has been a growth in participation from the health care community and SWAHEC has been pivotal in obtaining staff for the clinic and setting up protocols for the clinic. Support has included providing administrative directives, attending staff meetings, assisting with start up and continuing expenses, obtaining drug donations, and coordinating residents and other health care professions to serve at the clinic. There was an increase of 25% more patients that were served due to SWAHEC’s efforts.
• Provided opportunities for distance learning to regional physicians and professionals using the polycom.
• SWAHEC has been an early supporter of the Comanche County Multidisciplinary Team and subsequent Child Advocacy Center, The Sanctuary. This facility project is a model facility and is growing in use by surrounding counties and adjacent states. Child abuse is a disturbing problem in Southwest Oklahoma and SWAHEC is taking a leading role in addressing the affects of abuse and neglect.
• Last year, SWAHEC began providing a community component for medical residents and their rotations which includes the Clinic as well as other programs such as Tar Wars.
• SWAHEC provided 15 PDA’s, software and additional memory sticks for the residents to enable the program to begin a research program through the University of Oklahoma. The PDA’s allow residents to immediately tap into a wide data base for information on medications, diagnosis, chart history, and other information traditionally available on the internet.
• Between 75-90% of rural rotation students indicate that they have an interest in practicing in a rural environment.
• The Kids Into Health Careers program has been presented in over 100 locations impacting a large number of students. This program is presented to grade-school aged children by medical students who are completing their rural rotations.

Continuing and Community Education
Although funding is extremely limited for continuing and community education, SWAHEC does an excellent job in providing opportunities for personal growth through both avenues. A large number of programs, conferences, symposiums, and fairs take place with SWAHEC support and guidance, all for little or no dollars. The service provided to communities and professionals throughout Southwest Oklahoma is appreciated and depended upon not only for personal knowledge, but also for professional development.

• During each year, at least 30 groups or organizations have representation by SWAHEC at meetings or public events.
• Relationships built through community support have led to successful collaborations, with much more on the horizon.
• The Learning Resource Center has supplied literally thousands of materials, supplies, and equipment to the communities of Southwest Oklahoma
• SWAHEC has brought to the region programs and seminars that are not available in other parts of the state.
• Many of the staff serves on state, regional and local boards or advisory councils which directly support the mission of AHEC.

Bioterrorism
SWAHEC got off to a slow start implementing this new grant but has developed a solid program in a very short amount of time. The communities have been very supportive and helpful in recruiting facilitators, sites, and participants. The initial information provided about the program is extremely helpful in improving what and how education needs to be communicated in the future.

• Coordinated five sites across the region to host the fifteen teleconference sessions
• Extensive marketing across the region to hospitals, clinics, and individual providers
• 15 health care professionals from the region attended Caffa Exercise held at CU and sponsored by SWAHEC. SWAHEC was informed that their exercise was the best so far in the state.
• The Bioterrorism Education Coordinator completed the BERT training course

Outlook for FY05

• Continue current activities with Health Careers Awareness and Exploration
• Pursue additional funding for a SWAHEC-sponsored math, science, and exploration summer camp
• Add 5 more preceptors to the Southwest area
• Continue to support Native American projects in the region
• Create another Explorer Post in the Ardmore Area and add two more preceptors for Family B
• Continue to support the Residency Program. As the program ages, there will be needs that are not known at this time and as they evolve, we plan to meet those needs in whatever way possible.
• Enhance the didactics in both Elk City and Ardmore by adding a component on the legal and business aspects of setting up a practice
• Taking community education to areas that have not been reached before
• Continue to provide Dental CME to area Dentists, also providing appropriate Cleet to Law Enforcement, and to continue offering CE for the Judiciary and to locate resources to provide three scholarship grants for the tuition for Training 3 SANE nurses in Comanche County
• Have a 50% graduation rate in the GEC program
• FY 05 will begin with the second semester of BERT classes. Site training will be held at nine locations this fall with 5 paid facilitators and 4 hospital employees under the satellite MOA with Office of Rural Health. The goal is to have at least 3-5 participants at each site that will stick with the program and not be “floaters.” As has been proven across the state, it is not necessarily hard to recruit people but rather it is difficult to retain them. The goal is to train at least 2 from each site in the entire BERT program. This would give us the following numbers:
  • Total participants for Semester 2 to attend regularly: 27-45
  • Total participants to complete the BERT: 18
• In December, we will hold the Caffa training at Cameron University for SW Oklahoma. This will event will target participants that have attended any or all of the semester lectures. It will also be used as a recruitment tool for potential participants for Spring. I would like to exceed this past Caffa exercise number of 15 participants. The goal is to reach for 18-22 participants.
• In spring, we will begin the third and final semester of BERT. The semester will also include 15 sessions. We plan to continue our current site locations with 5 paid facilitators. During this semester, the goal is to see about the same numbers that were projected for Fall semester.
• In early summer 2005, we will host once again the Caffa exercise. The goal to have approximately 20 participants at this training.
• In July 2005, SWAHEC will host Fast Track.
• In addition to the actual BERT program, AHEC will participate in the Lawton/Fort Sill disaster drill in October of 2004 as a supervisor and evaluator of the Joint Information Center. We will also coordinate efforts between the Lawton media and the JIC.
• In July 2005, AHEC will again participate in a joint disaster exercise for Lawton. The role that AHEC will play is as Cameron Univeristy’s representative to the planning committee. We will operate as a Point of Dispension (POD) and actually be required to staff our own site with University personnel.

Staff