Hello,
I’m Francesca Schillaci and I am a Pinhead 2021 Intern from Telluride! Fortunately, my internship is in person! I am interning at the Rodham Institute housed within the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington D.C. The Rodham Institute strives for health equity in the D.C. area. The Rodham Institute does a variety of things including community outreach, educational webinars, etc. For community outreach they particularly help Wards 6, 7, and 8. To those who don’t know, wards 6, 7, and 8 are the poorest wards in D.C. who have the least resources.
My first week at Rodham was great! As D.C. is just starting to open up, many people are still half virtual and half in person. Thus, my first week at Rodham consisted of a similar model.
On Tuesday, I attended one of Rodham’s webinars which was called, “Staying Safe in the Summer: What Every Family Should Know about COVID-19.” The webinar was hosted by the wonderful Dr. El-Bayoumi and other guest speakers.
On Wednesday, I attended a Ward 7 Health Council Meeting. That was, without a doubt, a very interesting and engaging meeting. In D.C., Ward 7 struggles greatly with their health. In Ward 7 there is a nutrition issue. Many people have diabetes and are not receiving the nutrition they need. The council members spoke about bills being sponsored in the House of Representatives; however, the representative from D.C. stopped sponsoring the bill after allegedly receiving pressure from big soda companies! That was, without a doubt, an interesting and engaging zoom to be a part of!
Friday was an exciting day for me! I got to meet the other Rodham interns and faculty in person! The Rodham Institute was part of a Juneteenth health outreach event in Ward 7. The event included free HIV, kidney, liver, and covid-19 testing. Not to mention, covid-19 vaccinations. The Rodham Institute was at the event to provide the community with health and covid-19 resources. At the event, there was a presentation about opioids and Naloxone. Unfortunately, D.C. has a big opioid crisis particularly among black men from ages 39-65. At the event, I received training on how to use Naloxone, which can treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency situation, and I learned the signs of a narcotic overdose. BTW–Naloxone is a nasal spray that is free at CVS!
Unfortunately, I did not get many pictures at the event. I did, however, get a picture at the Naloxone booth where there were some hand sanitizers that said, “Better Things to do Than Drugs.”
As for my free time…. I just want to say that I LOVE D.C.!!! Coming to D.C. has made me realize that I would love to go to school here. I visited Georgetown and the George Washington campus, and I love both! In addition, I visited the white house and the National Gallery of Art. Fortunately, everything is in close proximity in D.C., so I saw the Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, and many other monuments.
There are no comments published yet.