USC Neighborhoods - Community Building - USC Community Programs and Volunteer Opportunities

Health

African Americans Building a Legacy of Health: This four-year project is part of the REACH 2010 (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) federal initiative that focuses on reducing the disparities in the areas of cardiovascular disease and diabetes by educating consumers and providers, improving access to quality nutrition, and increasing opportunities for physical activity within targeted areas. The project has been extended through 2007.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: LaVonna Blair Lewis, 213-740-4280
Email: llewis@usc.edu
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center: The Alzheimer's Disease Research Center was established in 1984 by a federal grant from the National Institute on Aging. As a comprehensive research program specializing in Alzheimer's disease and aging, the ADRC provides a complete diagnostic evaluation and ongoing follow-up for all participants. The ADRC provides outreach to the community, including educational speakers. Services also include referrals for caregiver support, education and medication trials.
Ages Served: 45 to 54 yes.; 55 to 64 yes.; 65+ yes.; 55 to 64 yrs.; 65+ yrs.
Contact: Linda Clark, 213-740-7777
Email: uscadrc@usc.edu
Anatomical Gift Program: The USC Anatomical Gift Program is administered under the guidelines established by the state of California. Individuals who are interested in becoming donors to this program are required to complete three forms to formalize this process: the donation form, signed by the donor and witnessed by two individuals; a vital statistics form; and a brief medical history. Certain circumstances may preclude acceptance of the donation. When death occurs within a 50-mile radius of the university and within Los Angeles County, the university assumes responsibility for all costs.
Ages Served: Less than 5 yes. old; 5 to 14 yes.; 15 to 24 yes.; 25 to 34 yes.; 35 to 44 yes.; 45 to 54 yes.; 55 to 64 yes.; 65+ yes.
Contact: Vicki Steinmeyer, 323-442-1191
Blood Donor Center: The USC Blood Donor Center provides blood to USC University Hospital and Norris Cancer Research Center. The center partners with local organizations such as churches, schools and government agencies to communicate the importance of giving blood and to address any anxiety regarding blood donation. The center also works with community groups to coordinate blood drives.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Gary Zeger, 323-442-5433
Email: uscblood@usc.edu
Cancer Information Service: The program's main object is to outreach and to build partnerships with agencies and organizations throughout Southern California that serve minority populations in order to bring them the latest and most accurate cancer information.
Contact: Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, 626-457-6606
Email: baezcond@usc.edu
CARES Child and Family Program: This program provides an array of services to the LAC+USC Medical Center's patients and visitors, including free child care, bilingual educational activities, psychological support, complete infant care, hot meals, parent education and immunizations. Children are screened for developmental and psychological problems, general health problems and child abuse.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Coco Ceja, 323-226-6945
Email: sceja@dhs.co.la.ca.us
Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber: The USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, located on the campus of the Wrigley Marine Science Center at Big Fisherman's Cove on the west end of Catalina Island, is an emergency recompression medical facility for the treatment of scuba diving accidents. The chamber also places an emphasis on research and community education.
Contact: Karl E. Huggins, 310-510-4020
Email: huggins@usc.edu
Chicanos/Latinos in Health Education - "Sanando La Comunidad": CLHE provides free health care -- including screenings, nutritional supplements and health education -- to communities in dire need of assistance in Tijuana, Mexico as well as in South Central Los Angeles. "Sanando la Comunidad," a health fair run by undergraduate students gives CHLE members a unique opportunity to provide medical education in an underserved community. In learning of the challenges faced by health care providers and receivers, an awareness and honest concern for the improvement of healthcare to underserved communities can potentially result and also bring members to work together and explore the various roles (careers) that exists within a medical/health environment. Sponsored by USC Program Board and Latino Student Assembly.
Contact: Jaime Gonzalez, 213-740-1480
Email: clhe@usc.edu
Children's Outreach Program: CORE pairs interested second-year students at the Keck School of Medicine of USC with chronically ill children. The students commit to serving two to four hours per week with a family enrolled in the national Family Friends Program to serve as a big brother or sister to the child and to learn how chronic illness shapes affects their family.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.; 15 to 24 yrs.
Contact: Felice Resnick, 818-761-3447
Email: famfriends@aol.com
Etan Milgrom, 213-740-0225 emilgrom@usc.edu
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Office of Community Affairs: Community Affairs provides services to area families through a variety of programs, including child passenger safety seat education classes (available by appointment and available in English and Spanish), child and youth safety information and resources, injury prevention, parenting resources, Healthy Families program, health fairs, and health promotion.
Contact: Ellen Zaman, 323-669-2487
Email: ezaman@chla.usc.edu
Olga Taylor, 323-669-2487 otaylor@chla.usc.edu
Collegiate Med Volunteers: A one-year program in which students shadow a team of physicians and residents, rotating through three different departments including Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Ob/Gyn and Pediatrics at LAC+USC Medical Center. Upper-division college students volunteer in the Department of Internal Medicine at the LAC+USC Medical Center. Responsibilities of volunteers include: transporting lab specimens, medical appliances and X-rays; assisting in obtaining pertinent patient-related information from outside resources; acting as interpreters if able to speak a foreign language; picking up blood from the blood bank; doing research on relevant topics in the library; obtaining non-invasive patient related data; and performing special assignments as requested by a supervising physician.
Contact: Coco Ceja, 323-226-6945
Email: sceja@dhs.co.la.ca.us
Community Hospital Network: The Keck School of Medicine of USC assists community hospitals to become "neighborhood schools" for their medical staffs. Each hospital in USC's Community Hospital Network becomes a learning center providing educational activities to meet the needs of staff physicians who participate. Educational planners regularly visit each CHN hospital to devise individually tailored programs. All the educational activities provide hour-for-hour Category I credit.
Contact: Joy Lorenzana, 323-442-2538
Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center: Supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, this is a program of basic and clinical research, professional and community education, and direct medical services for adults and children. The center provides consultation services and cooperates with a community nonprofit organization that offers education and community services.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Cage S. Johnson, 323-442-1259
Email: cagejohn@hsc.usc.edu
Dental Clinic at the Union Rescue Mission: The dental clinic provides comprehensive dental care for adults and children who are homeless. The modern eight-chair clinic is located at the Union Rescue Mission at 545 South San Pedro Street in Los Angeles.
Contact: Director , 213-347-6300, ext. 2247
Dental Health Fairs in the Community: Last year, USC School of Dentistry students participated in over 30 health fairs at the request of community groups. Volunteer dental and dental hygiene students provide oral health and nutrition education, tooth brush instruction, dental screening and referrals for care to more than 3,000 community members.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Niel Nathason, 213-740-1523
Email: nathason@usc.edu
Dental Screenings for Local Students: The USC School of Dentistry provides free dental screenings to local children and youth enrolled in Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the vicinity of USC's campuses. Services can be requested by the school principal.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.
Contact: Charles M. Goldstein, 213-740-1423
Email: charlesg@hsc.usc.edu|
Julie Jenks, 213-740-0412 jenksja@aol.com
Doctors Out to Care: This program gives dental students an opportunity to be involved in community service. Participants go out to USC partner elementary schools and discuss topics ranging from oral hygiene instruction to dentistry as a profession.
Contact: Jennifer Holtzman, 213-740-1098
Email: jholtzma@usc.edu
Doheny Eye and Tissue Transplant Bank: The Doheny Eye and Tissue Transplant Bank recovers such nonocular tissues as heart valves, sapheneous veins, skin, bone and other connective tissues in addition to the eye tissue recovered by its Lions Doheny Eye Bank.|Tissue Donation 24-Hour Hotline: 1-800-528-9500.
Contact: Don Ward, 213-482-3937
Drug Therapy Program: Through this program, USC School of Pharmacy faculty, students and residents offer drug therapy management to patients with arthritis, diabetes, hypertension and other medical conditions. Services, available in English and Spanish, include therapeutic drug monitoring, information and education. Offered at the Edward Roybal Comprehensive Health Center.
Contact: William C. Gong, 323-442-2648
Email: wgong@hsc.usc.edu
Excellence In Athletics/Department of Sports Medicine: The USC Department of Sports Medicine coordinates an innovated community-outreach program affecting local high schools in the East Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley areas. This program offers Certified Athletic Trainers, for up to 10 hours per week at each high school. The trainers perform injury evaluation, provide rehabilitation programs, and provide emergency medical care in the event of a major injury or athletic accident. The program also provides a free Saturday morning "Injury Clinic" during the fall, a medical excess insurance policy, an athletic training room where students can receive injury rehabilitation, and 24-hour access to a Certified Athletic Trainer. The department is also the official Certified Athletic Trainers for USC club sports.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.; 15 to 24 yrs.; 25 to 34 yrs.
Contact: Cheryl Lollich, 323-442-5226
Email: usc-sportsmedicine@tenethealth
Folic Acid Fotonovela: In order to increase knowledge of folic acid among low-income, low-literacy Hispanic families, the USC School of Pharmacy has developed a fotonovela for distribution to community organizations. The fotonovela, a popular Hispanic literary format, targets young Latina women and emphasizes the cultural value of family as well as the importance of increasing folic acid intake to improve health. Copies of the fotonovela are available to the public by request. Funded in part by a USC Neighborhood Outreach grant.
Contact: Melvin F. Baron, 323-442-6556
Email: mbaron@usc.edu
FUENTE Initiative: The FUENTE Initiative utilizes local pharmacists and USC School of Pharmacy resources to provide poison prevention and appropriate drug-use education. Services include: health fairs presented at the East Los Angeles Occupational Center and the East Los Angeles Skills Center; and poison prevention education for first-graders and parents. Funded in part by a USC Neighborhood Outreach grant.
Contact: Kathleen A. Johnson, 323-442-1355
Email: kjohnson@usc.edu
Geriatric Dentistry Program: This program provides dental evaluation and treatment for elderly patients. The program welcomes patients with medically compromising conditions, including but not limited to Parkinson's Disease, dementia, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
Ages Served: 65+ yrs.; 55 to 64 yrs.
Contact: Special Patients Clinic , 213-740-5094
Health Affairs Outreach: The associate vice president for Health Affairs cultivates relations with the communities adjacent to the USC Health Sciences Campus and serves as a resource for the community as well as for USC administrative and academic units.
Contact: John C. Hisserich, 323-442-2077
Email: hisseric@usc.edu
Health Professions Schools In Service to the Nation: Community-service experiential-learning concepts are introduced to dental students and dental hygiene students as integrated parts of community dentistry coursework. Service activities include oral health education for school children, oral screening in health fairs and participation in Mobile Dental Clinics and in the USC/URM Dental Clinic for the Homeless. In 2004, more than 360 USC students participated at community sites and schools, providing education and clinical service to more than 4,000 clients.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.
Contact: Niel Nathason, 213-740-1523
Email: nathason@usc.edu
Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership: The Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership seeks to address secondhand smoke by working on voluntary policies and compliance in the Hispanic community, provide technical assistance and training, support the Statewide Hispanic Media Campaign to counter tobacco use, and to promote the California Smokers Helpline.
Contact: Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, 626-457-6606
Email: baezcond@usc.edu
James A. Peterson Human Relations Center: This is an outpatient clinic that provides mental health services to the community on a sliding scale basis. Advanced graduate trainees provide the following services: individual psychotherapy; marital, couple, family and group therapy; psychological testing; etc.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Barry Reynolds, 213-740-1600
Email: |
Joint Educational Project: JEP is a service-learning program based in USC College. The program is designed to broker between academic courses and schools and service agencies in the University Park neighborhood. Each year JEP places approximately 2,000 students as mentors, mini-course instructors, translators, assistants to teachers and other helping professionals. Since 1972, students from over 65 different academic courses have attempted to understand the practical implications and applications of course-related concepts through community-service activities. Their work involves weekly reflective exercises as well as an end-of-semester paper, and is supported by classroom instructors and teaching assistants.
Contact: Tammara S. Anderson, 213-740-1837
Email: tanderso@usc.edu
Lee Breast Center at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center: The Lee Breast Center at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center provides multidisciplinary approaches to breast health care including screening, examination, diagnosis, consultation, support groups for women with breast cancer, free information and videotapes. The center has recently established a patient education resource center which includes Internet access. Staff members conduct weekly screening clinics at LAC+USC Medical Center and distribute information at health fairs in the community. Speakers are available to organizations interested in hosting an educational seminar on self examination and breast health. A state-wide toll-free number (1-800-498-6666) links the center to self-referring patients and the community.
Contact: Constance St. Albin, 323-865-3368
Email: constance.stalbin@tenethealth.
Literature, Arts, Culture, Education and Recreation: LACER is an established after-school program for middle school students in Los Feliz. Keck School of Medicine of USC students join with the LaCER program at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School to teach weekly sessions on drugs and alcohol, sex and contraception, hygiene, nutrition, and development for boys and girls. A mentoring program also connects individual medical students with chosen at-risk students.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.
Contact: Todd Forman, 323-442-3070
Email: tforman@usc.edu
Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center: The center, part of the USC Andrus Gerontology Center, provides information and referral, family consultation, respite funding, legal consultation funding, support groups and short-term counseling to assist caregivers who are caring for a cognitively impaired adult (Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's, stroke, head injury). Provides workshops, training sessions and education to professionals in the community and caregivers on topics of concern, such as legal, financial and illness. Serves all of Los Angeles County with four satellite offices.
Contact: Donna Benton, (800) 540-4442
Email: lacrc@usc.edu
Manual Arts High School Teen Clinic: The clinic offers free, on-campus services to students attending Manual Arts High School. Students can receive care for acute and chronic health issues; physical exams; immunizations; vision and hearing tests; family planning; counseling; and education to prevent pregnancy, drug and alcohol problems. In addition, assistance is provided in enrolling families in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids programs that provide free or reduced-cost health insurance.
Contact: Julie McAvoy, 323-232-1121 ext. 2056
Email: jmcavoy@chla.usc.edu
Mobile Dental Clinic: The Mobile Dental Clinic provides free, comprehensive dental care to more than 1,500 needy children throughout the Southern California, many from migrant farmworker families. Most of the children have never seen a dentist, and nearly all have their treatment completed by USC dental and dental hygiene students during their seven days of operation in each community. Mobile and portable equipment is set up at the clinic site.
Ages Served: 17-Jun
Contact: Marjorie A. Domingo, 213-228-5540
Email: mdomingo@usc.edu
Multi-Site Family Medicine Residency/Haven House Collaboration: Family Medicine residents visit Haven House (a women's shelter) to provide TB testing, medical assessments, treatment and referral, and psychosocial services. Residents learn about domestic violence and its impact on families. The two agencies collaborate on needs assessments and developing services to meet mutual needs.
Contact: Tracey Norton, 323-442-1342
Email: tlnorton@usc.edu or feifer@usc
Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice: The Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice provides occupational therapy treatment and/or consultation to patients who would benefit from services including lifestyle redesign and pain management.
Contact: Dorothy Chiaramonte, 323-442-3340
Email: dchiaram@usc.edu
Occupational Therapy House: The Occupational Therapy House is a unique residential program designed especially for occupational therapy (OT) students at USC. Following in the early 20th-century tradition of occupational therapy "settlement homes" -- community sites where occupational therapy services were provided in impoverished areas -- the OT House features a volunteer service component. Residents of the OT House have painted colorful murals near USC, held a blood drive and collaborated in USC's Kid Watch program. In addition, the house has adopted the nearby Sunshine Mission, a shelter and transitional residency program for homeless and low-income women. OT House residents regularly visit the Sunshine Mission to collaborate on a community garden, to provide arts and crafts activities, to socialize with their neighbors, and to share tips for healthy living.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Stephanie Mielke, 323-442-2850
Email: smielke@usc.edu
Occupational Therapy Outreach: The Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice's OT Outreach provides community education through participation in activities such as local health fairs. Faculty members speak to community organizations on a variety of topics, such as stress reduction, home safety, adaptive equipment, increasing independence in the home, time management, adaptation and coping strategies, and wellness for the elderly.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Stephanie Mielke, 323-442-2850
Email: smielke@usc.edu
Occupational Therapy Practice at USC University Hospital: Initiated by the USC Department of Occupational Therapy in 1990, and jointly overseen by the department and Tenet, a national health care corporation, the University Hospital Practice provides occupational therapy services within the USC University Hospital.
Contact: USC Department of Occupational , 323-442-2850
Email: otdept@usc.edu
Operation Smile: Operation Smile is one of the largest global volunteer humanitarian organizations that specializes in free reconstructive surgery for children. USC volunteer teams repair childhood facial deformities while building public and private partnerships that advocate for sustainable health care systems for children and families.
Contact: Randolph Sherman, 323-442-6482
Email: operationsmilela@surgery.usc.e
Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center: This is a multi-site center that provides education and training to primary health care professionals. Educational programs are available for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists and mental health workers. The goal of the center is to provide primary care professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to care for HIV-infected patients and to increase the numbers of trained primary care professionals working with HIV-infected patients in the community.
Ages Served: Less than 5 yes. old; 5 to 14 yes.; 15 to 24 yes.; 25 to 34 yes.; 35 to 44 yes.; 45 to 54 yes.; 55 to 64 yes.; 65+ yes.
Contact: Jerry D. Gates, 323-442-1846
Email: jdgates@hsc.usc.edu
Physician Assistant Helper Volunteer Program: Upper-division college students volunteer to work with physician assistants through this program. The major responsibilities include gathering supplies for procedures, transporting patients, acting as an interpreter if bilingual, helping physician assistants position limbs for casting, and running errands as requested.
Contact: Coco Ceja, 323-226-6945
Email: sceja@dhs.co.la.ca.us
Pre-Occupational Therapy Club: This club explores and promotes issues related to the field of Occupational Therapy and fosters the leadership, personal and social development of its members. Provides community service.
Contact: Elizabeth Carley, 323-442-2859
Email: carley@usc.edu
Psychological Services Program: The program offers comprehensive mental health services including individual, group and family therapy, psychological/educational testing and referral. The Psychological Services Program is located within the Teenage Health Center and actively participates in the multidisciplinary component of the division's activities. Services offered through the program are primarily available to teens who are receiving care in other divisional programs. Common problems addressed include depression/suicide, anxiety, stress-related symptoms, school problems, abuse and psychophysiologic complaints.
Ages Served: 11-22 years old; 5 to 14 yrs.; 15 to 24 yrs.
Contact: Sara Sherer, 323-669-2153
Research Center for Alcoholic Liver and Pancreatic Diseases: Funded in 1999 by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Research Center for Alcoholic Liver and Pancreatic Diseases is a collaborative effort among the leaders in the study of alcoholic liver and pancreatic diseases in the Los Angeles area. Key center researchers are academically affiliated with renowned institutions such as the University of Southern California (USC), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The center's mission is to promote integrated research on alcoholic liver and pancreatic diseases by cross-utilization of scientific expertise and resources among investigators at USC- and UCLA-affiliated institutions. It also promotes education, prevention, and training in alcohol-related diseases in medical, scientific and lay communities in the city. ||The center provides an annual community seminar on pancreas and liver protection. The seminar includes a lecture and open forum question and answer session with doctors from USC and UCLA.
Contact: Hidekazu Tsukamoto, 323-442-3121
Email: htsukamo@usc.edu
Risk Reduction Program: The program provides free comprehensive services for youth ages 12 through 23 living with HIV, prevention services for youth at risk, as well as various research programs. The program also co-sponsors the Los Angeles County Adolescent HIV Consortium and Transgender Youth Consortium. The Minority AIDS Initiative also provides services for HIV positive youth of color between 13 and 24 living in Los Angeles County.
Ages Served: 15 to 24 yrs.; 5 to 14 yrs.
Contact: Miguel Martinez, 323-669-2390
Email: mimartinez@chla.usc.edu
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center: The SCEHSC primarily focuses on using epidemiologic methods to study the effects of the environment on human health, especially with regard to the multiethnic populations of California and the Pacific Rim. The center maintains a Community Outreach and Education Program to develop models for community outreach and school curricula to educate the public on how to control, reduce or eliminate the threat of living with environmental hazards. Dissemination of research findings to the health care, corporate and policy-making communities and the environmental public at large enables the SCEHSC to facilitate an informed public debate. The center is actively engaged in a number of efforts with community-based organizations and schools. For example, the center has trained school nurses and teachers on issues involving air pollution and respiratory health effects. The center has also produced a documentary video entitled, "A Breath of Air: What Air Pollution is Doing to Our Children."
Contact: Andrea Hricko, 323-442-3077
Email: scehsc@usc.edu
Special Patient Care Dental Clinic: The Special Care Dental Clinic provides dental evaluation and treatment for patients with medically compromising conditions, including developmental disabilities and mental and physical impairments. The clinic also provides dental treatment under I.V. sedation and general anesthesia for developmentally disabled patients.
Ages Served: 13-98
Contact: Roseann Mulligan, 213-740-5094
Email: mulligan@hsc.usc.edu
Substance Abuse Treatment Program: Free, outpatient services are available for youth between the ages of 12 and 24 who have an alcohol or drug problem. Individuals may call directly for an appointment or be referred by an agency. Services funded by Los Angeles County Alcohol and Drug Program Administration.
Ages Served: 12-24 years old; 15 to 24 yrs.; 5 to 14 yrs.
Contact: Brandi Freeman, 323-669-2463
Email: bfreeman@chla.usc.edu
Teenage and Young Adult Health Center: The center sees adolescents between the ages of 12 and 21. A multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, psychologists and other health care professionals offers comprehensive medical and psychosocial health care to adolescents and young adults. Medical services include routine physicals, skin problem examinations, injury treatment, growth and weight problems, family planning, menstrual problems, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders, HIV clinic, substance abuse, etc.
Ages Served: 13 to 21; 5 to 14 yrs.; 15 to 24 yrs.
Contact: Marvin Belzer, 323-669-2153
Email: mbelzer@chla.usc.edu
Tingstad Older Adult Counseling Center: The TOACC provides comprehensive direct services for older adults and their families. The program is designed to assist with problems that may accompany the aging process. Services include testing and assessment; individual, couple and family therapy; counseling of families and caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's Disease and related brain disorders; and ongoing support groups.
Ages Served: 55 to 64 yrs.; 65+ yrs.; Not applicable
Contact: Anne D. Katz, 213-740-3493
Email: akatz@usc.edu
Tooth Tutoring: The USC School of Dentistry's Dental Hygiene Division, in cooperation with the USC Joint Educational Project, offers this dental health program in the local schools each year with teams of students preparing and presenting lessons on proper nutrition and dental care.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.
Contact: Dental Hygiene Program , 213-740-1072
Brenda Pesante, 213-740-1837 pesante@usc.edu
Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center: One of seven centers funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Currently in its fifth year, the community-based research focuses on the cultural, social, psychological and environmental factors affecting tobacco use and prevention among heterogeneous youth in ethnically diverse, multicultural California and Hawaii, and the predominately homogenous youth of Mainland China. TTURC's five major projects include tobacco use prevention across cultures, the role of cultural values in adolescent smoking, smoking progression among culturally diverse youth, countering tobacco advertising in diverse populations, and NIEHS gene/environmental interactions in smoking-related respiratory symptoms. ||Through its Community Outreach and Education Core (COEC), TTURC forms ties with various ethnic populations in California and disseminates the latest information in tobacco research to schools and community grass-roots service providers. This dialogue informs TTURC about possible future research projects, while at the same time giving TTURC the opportunity to disseminate tobacco control research to the community.
Contact: Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, 626-457-6606
Email: baezcond@usc.edu
Trauma Outreach Program, Division of Trauma and Critical Care: The Trauma Outreach program of the Division of Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care seeks to deglamorize trauma and put a face to the victims and the tragedy that perennially involves urban arenas of warfare in the United States. It attempts to educate young people at risk through presentations depicting the end results of gunshot, shotgun and stab wounds, which are the final common pathways of interpersonal violence. By educating young people, health care practitioners and the public at large through visits to high schools, juvenile hall detention centers and public forums, the program delivers a message of non-violence and peaceful conflict resolutions. To date, the program has interfaced with over 13,000 students, physicians, executives and community leaders and has been widely recognized by national and international agencies and the media.
Ages Served: 15 to 24 yrs.
Contact: Demetrios Demetriades, 323-226-7761
Email: demetria@usc.edu
Trojan Health Volunteers: USC Trojan Health Volunteers is an organization that targets pre-health students interested in working with local health clinics and hospitals assisting physicians and other health care providers. The program offers a variety of experiences along with verbal and written translations.
Contact: Neil Chawla, 213-740-1837
Email: nchawla@usc.edu
University Affiliated Program, Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities: The purpose of UAP UCEDD is to provide leadership in strengthening systems and services for the benefit of individuals with, or at risk for, developmental, behavioral and/or special health care needs and their families. The program is one of over 61 UCEDDs nationwide.
Contact: Robert A. Jacobs, 323-669-2300
Email: uscuap@chla.usc.edu
Cary Kreutzer, 323-671-3830 cbujold@chla.usc.edu
USC Community Health Fair: The annual USC Community Health Fair is part of the ongoing efforts of the USC Health Sciences Campus Community Outreach office and the USC HSC Partner Schools Task Force to bring health services, education and information to the residents of the surrounding community. The health fair introduces many families to free and low-cost preventative health services and basic health screenings. |
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: David Galaviz, 323-442-3572
Email: dgalaviz@usc.edu
USC Dental Clinic: The USC School of Dentistry (USCSD) is a "learning organization" dedicated to improving the health of all people by providing quality, service and efficiency for all patients. Comprehensive oral health care is provided to all patients who qualify to be patients in our teaching programs. General dentistry procedures are provided at reduced fees by student dentists and dental hygienists under the supervision of experienced faculty. ||The USC dental clinic also offers in-house specialty services including endodontics (root canal treatment), periodontics (treatment of gum diseases), prosthodontics (implants, full mouth rehabilitations), oral surgery (tooth removal), orthodontics (tooth straightening), special patients (with special needs), and pedodontics (children's dentistry). Special consultations and second opinions are readily available -- in many cases without additional cost.|
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Norris Dental Science Center , 213-740-2800 or 888-872-3
Email: dentweb@usc.edu
USC Geriatric Studies Center: The USC Geriatric Studies Center includes the State of California Alzheimer's Research Center of California and the National Institute of Aging-funded clinical program of the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. It is staffed by USC faculty and physicians with expertise in Alzheimer's disease and age-related memory loss. The center provides evaluation, diagnosis and treatment recommendations, referral to caregiver services and support groups, and the opportunity to participate in clinical drug trials with the most recent advances in medications for memory problems. The center also provides evaluation for those who are experiencing the normal memory loss that occurs with age and may not have Alzheimer's disease.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Geriatric Studies Center , 323-442-7600
Email: gsc@usc.edu
USC Neighborhood Mobile Dental Van Prevention Program: Offers preventive services, including dental screenings, teeth cleaning, dental sealants, fluoride treatment, oral health education, and referrals to no- or low-cost clinics when needed. Funded in part by a USC Neighborhood Outreach grant.
Contact: Jennifer Holtzman, 213-740-1098
Email: jholtzma@usc.edu
USC Oral Health Center: The OHC is where the USC School of Dentistry faculty's private practices and the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program are housed. The 12 dental residents serve the community and underserved oral health needs.
Contact: Jack Broussard, 213-740-2012
Email: abelson@usc.edu
USC School of Social Work Field Education: An integral part of the graduate social work curriculum is a four-semester (16-unit) internship program. Students are placed in agencies throughout Southern California providing a variety of needed services, including advocacy, outreach, consultation, education, case management and treatment services. First-year students are placed in agencies 16 hours per week for two semesters (a total of 450 hours), and second year students are placed 20 hours per week for two semesters (a total of 600 hours). They are supervised by master-level social workers. There are over 400 students currently placed in agencies, many of which are located in the neighborhoods near the USC campuses. Agencies in which students learn and work include schools, hospitals, community centers, government offices, senior centers, child guidance clinics, and both public and private social service centers.
Ages Served: 5 to 14 yrs.; Less than 5 yrs. old; 15 to 24 yrs.
Contact: Micki Gress, 213-740-0294
Email: gress@usc.edu
USC Seniors Fit for Life: The USC Seniors Fit for Life Program is a half-day consultation that provides seniors the opportunity to meet with an integrated team of specialists who have come together to assess specific health care needs, and provide information about the most up-to-date and appropriate therapies. Specialists include geriatric physicians, nutrition specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers and pharmacists. ||Patient health insurance providers will be billed directly for all services covered. However, a portion of the program services are not covered by most standard or supplemental insurance plans, including Medicare. A $500 program fee is charged for these non-covered services. |
Ages Served: 65+ yrs.
Contact: Grace Valdiviezo, 323-442-5100
USC Westside Center for Diabetes: The USC Westside Center for Diabetes offers diagnostic, treatment and prevention services for patients with diabetes and prediabetes.The center offers medical treatment in connection with specialized counseling in exercise and diet. It also offers services for other endocrine disorders. The center can also assess and treat patients with adrenal and thyroid diseases and growth, hormone and reproductive disorders.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Anne Peters Harmel, 323-931-7525
Email: intmed@usc.edu
Violence Intervention Program: The Violence Intervention Program at LAC+USC Medical Center evaluates and treats victims of family violence and sexual assault. The program serves as a county-wide resource for cases of suspected child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, domestic violence, elder abuse/neglect, and dependent adult abuse/neglect. A primary care clinic for foster care children, called the Community-Based Assessment and Treatment Center, is the program's newest addition and opened in 2004. VIP projects also include the Everychild Foundation Center for the Vulnerable Child, Sexual Assault Center, 24-Hour Domestic Violence Response Team, Adult Protection Team and VIP Community Mental Health Center. The VIP CMHC Mentoring and Tutoring Project is funded in part by a USC Neighborhood Outreach grant.
Ages Served: All ages
Contact: Astrid Heppenstall-Heger, 323-226-2095
Email: vip_lacusc@msn.com
Volunteer Program, USC University Hospital: USC University Hospital is a private, 293-bed research and teaching hospital staffed by 500 faculty physicians of the renowned Keck School of Medicine of USC. The hospital offers top medical expertise and advanced technological services in a compassionate and comfortable environment. The hospital welcomes the opportunity to work with both student and adult volunteers from all walks of life. ||The volunteer placement opportunities are varied from administrative to medical settings. Volunteers generally do not have hands-on contact with patients, but assist with a variety of tasks to support the work performed at the hospital. Possible volunteer areas include: surgical information desk, admitting, medical/surgical units, intensive care units, physical and occupational therapy, gift shop, non-invasive vascular lab, marketing and public relations, nursing administration, and the concierge desk. Interested volunteers should visit the hospital Web site or call the Volunteer Information Line at 323-442-8919.|
Contact: Kai Tramiel, 323-442-8436
Email: Kai.Tramiel@tenethealth.com
Volunteer Programs, LAC+USC Medical Center: College students volunteer in various capacities at LAC+USC Medical Center. Assignments include: working in various wards and clinics, including Outpatient Services and Physical Therapy; social work internships; and Book Cart, Translator, and Coffee Cart Programs services that are provided by both General Hospital and Womens and Childrens Hospital. Womens and Childrens Hospital offers the Child Life Program, Starlight Express Room Program, and Cuddler Program. Many additional volunteer opportunities are available.
Contact: Coco Ceja, 323-226-6945
Email: sceja@dhs.co.la.ca.us
Women's Interagency HIV Study: This is a study sponsored by the National Institute of Health of HIV disease in women, with sites at LAC+USC Medical Center, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and Prototypes. The women are seen every six months and undergo an extensive medical and psychological evaluation. Medical update sessions are held on a monthly basis, are open to the community and rotate to each study site.
Contact: Alexandra Levine, 323-865-3913
Email: alevine@usc.edu