Preparing the next generation of professionals who will serve and empower vulnerable people to live healthier lives and create healthier communities is the mission of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) program, named in honor of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and founder of the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, Africa. Each year, the Fellowship program’s 13 chapters each select a new class of fellows to carry out a year-long, 200-hour service project.

In March, 10 students from the University of Vermont College of Medicine’s Class of 2018 were selected by the New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellowship as 2015-16 fellows. The students – who are competitively chosen from health-focused graduate student applicants in a variety of fields – will be conducting projects that address health disparities and the social determinants of health throughout the region. This year’s fellows and respective projects include:

• Alison Mercier and Emily Forbes-Mobus, who will work with the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association to deliver a series of educational workshops aimed at supporting the wellbeing of Alzheimer's disease patient caregivers, as well as promoting healthy aging in older adults.

• Emily Ryan and Julia Shatten, who will work with the UVM Department of Psychology to assess the needs of underserved pregnant women in Burlington, Vt., and connect those who have depression with access to psychotherapy, enabling them to forego anti-depression medication and still receive treatment during pregnancy.

• Kathryn Anderson and Charlotte Hastings, who will work with Hunger Free Vermont, the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program and New American families to address barriers to food/nutrition security that exist within the Burlington, Vt. refugee population.

• Astia Roper-Batker and Susannah Kricker, who, building upon the work of 2014-15 Schweitzer Fellows Alejandro Velez ’17 and Jessica Huang ’17, will work with Bridges to Health to develop a standardized health literacy training program to prepare UVM medical and undergraduate students to deliver effective and specific lessons on healthcare topics to Latino migrant dairy farmworkers in Vermont.

• Kelley Collier and Brett Powers, who will work with the UVM Children’s Hospital's division of pediatric pulmonology to create individual "body maps" with pediatric cystic fibrosis patients. This activity -- as well as an art show displaying the body maps -- is designed to create a space for dialogue about the psychosocial components of this chronic disease and lessen the isolation these patients experience.

Based in Boston, Mass., and founded in 1940, the ASF includes 12 U.S. and one Gabon, Africa chapter. Founded in 1996, the NH-VT Schweitzer Fellows Program is dedicated to developing a pipeline of emerging professionals who enter the workforce with the skills and commitment necessary to address unmet health needs.