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Jessica Britnell,
MS, PA-C |
Jossie Carreras
Tartak, MD |
Anita Chary, MD |
Farah Dadabhoy,
MD |
Jayelani Hall |
Mariama Runcie,
MD |
Melanie Molina,
MD |
Aline Snietka,
MS, PA-C |
Several individuals and teams in the Department of Emergency Medicine were selected for the department’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Social Justice (IDEaS) Spark Grants, which support research projects that aim to increase diversity at the Brigham, provide health education to majority-Black neighborhoods and hold conversations about privilege and the lasting effects of systemic racism.
The Spark Grants are intended to provide financial and technical assistance as well as support to faculty, clinical and non-clinical staff in fostering ideas of diversity, health equity and social justice. The Department of Emergency Medicine Office of IDEaS sought to “spark” the collective creative minds in the department to innovate in these important areas.
Diversity and Inclusion Spark Grant
The Diversity and Inclusion Spark Grant is given to research proposals that involve internal-facing efforts to foster and maintain a diverse working environment. These include, but are not limited to, novel efforts to recruit, retain, support, and educate faculty and staff at the Brigham. The recipients are:
- Jessica Britnell, MS, PA-C, and Aline Snietka, MS, PA-C, for “Increasing Diversity Amongst Future Physician Assistants: A Collaboration Between BWH Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants and BWH Emergency Service Assistants”: This project will implement a mentorship program to introduce qualified minority candidates to the physician assistant (PA) career experience. Candidates will have the opportunity to shadow a current PA, receive direct supervision and guidance, and gain critical patient-care skills.
Health Equity Spark Grant
The Health Equity Spark Grant supports research proposals that are patient-facing and aimed at promoting equitable care in the Brigham community. Health equity recognizes that everyone, regardless of race, gender, age, disability and culture, deserves the opportunity to be as healthy as possible. The recipients are:
- Anita Chary, MD, Farah Dadabhoy, MD, Melanie Molina, MD, and Jossie Carreras Tartak, MD, for “Reducing Bias in De-escalation of Emergency Department Patients”: The honorees will design and implement a study protocol to meticulously assess and document how current practices and inherent biases may lead to more frequent restraint of Black and brown patients. Concurrently, they will design a simulation-based educational curriculum to give providers skills to de-escalate patients to guide care and offer a framework to assess biases prior to restrain utilization.
Social Justice Spark Grants
The Social Justice Spark Grants are given to people with initiatives that promote fair and equitable access and social rights for underrepresented and underserved people in the community. The recipients are:
- Jayelani Hall, for “Hard Candy & Fruit Snacks”: This podcast features co-hosts and longtime friends Gloria Harrison and Carrie Clifford, a Black woman and a white woman, having open, honest conversations about privilege, disadvantages and the lasting effects of systemic racism. The podcast paves a path for local and national communities to have the conversations necessary to heal divisions. Hall serves as a project lead for the podcast.
- Mariama Runcie, MD, for “Patient Education and Community Engagement around Cerebral Vascular Accident in Roxbury and Dorchester”: Muncie proposed a public health and patient education campaign in the majority-Black neighborhoods of Roxbury and Dorchester to educate people to recognize signs of a stroke and seek immediate care. The project aims to reduce the disproportionate rates of death and disability that Black communities suffer due to stroke.
