Community Partner: Walnut Hills
Walnut Hills is located 2 miles northeast of downtown Cincinnati and is home to many community organizations that come together to help the people of Walnut Hills. With help from Dr. Anna Goroncy and Christ Hospital’s Family Medicine residents there have been many initiatives to identify the needs within the community and work with the members of the community to find solutions. Current projects include a community garden that helps the members of the Walnut Hills community learn more about gardening and healthy eating. There is also Friday Food and Fun events which partner with La Soupe and other food services within the community to provide healthy food and grocery options due to the closure of the local Kroger and lack of access to healthy food and groceries. The community also partners with Black Power Initiative to help distribute food throughout the city to further help advocate and combat food insecurity in the community.
Working within the Walnut Hills community provides much more than volunteer opportunities; it provides the space to meet and learn from those that have lived in the community and form relationships to learn what more needs to be done to help the community. By gardening with residents, helping them shop during the Friday Food and Fun event and simply giving the community the space to speak freely about their needs this community partner gives the opportunity to make connections and make a difference.
About Colleen
I was born in Akron, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University in 2020 with a Mathematics degree. I started medical school at The University of Cincinnati in the fall of 2020. Throughout my time at UCCOM I had partnered with a fellow student, Alexa Svoboda and Dr. Goroncy to form a group “UC Food Insecurity Collaboration” to help medical students get involved within the Walnut Hills community helping and educating future providers on the importance of healthy eating and living in a person’s overall health. I am excited to continue to work with the Walnut Hills community throughout this elective and continue to build strong partnerships within the community.
I chose to do this elective to reconnect with this community after a year of clinical work and learn from great mentors the importance of understanding and helping overcome different barriers that are involved in various patients’ lives that contribute to different health outcomes. I plan to apply to Family Medicine Residency to further be able to connect with patients not just in the hospital or clinic but in the community.