Mike Meacham
The main component of CPN’s KidsWell Health and Wellness initiative is the creation of a School Based Health Clinic in each of the four CPN elementary schools. Although they are staffed on a limited basis by Dr. Randazzo of MUSC, we have a wonderful, dedicated strategic volunteer, Mike Meacham who is helping us to create a more sustainable long-term model. Mike is an Associate Professor with MUSC in the Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management. His students have collected and analyzed data from our clinics’ first few months of operations. All were surprised at the needs of high-poverty, high-potential schools, the complexities of Medicaid, and the barriers of care due to complexity of reimbursement.
Here are some of the students’ comments regarding this project:
“…never really knew that children hadn’t seen a doctor before…”
“There is an enormous need for children’s healthcare in the Charleston area.”
“This has been an amazing, eye opening opportunity; too often we fail to look at the community around us and I, like most students, had fallen victim. This project has really opened my eyes to the community around us and its demographics. Call me naive, but I failed to realize that we were right in the middle of such a large underserved population …”
“I am proud to have worked on this project, and I hope to continue contributing to the community in the future.”
Thank you to the MUSC students for all of your hard work, and a huge thank you to their professor, our strategic volunteer Mike Meacham!
