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Are you a family medicine, internal medicine or pediatric physician or PA who wants to be a healthcare superstar? Are you ready to advance your leadership skills? Are you ready to be a thought-leader? If the answer is yes, then we welcome you to apply for the Morehouse School of Medicine Community Health Advanced by Medical Practice Superstars (CHAMPS) Transformational Leadership Fellowship to gain leadership skills and expertise in transforming your practice and your community.

CHAMPS is a year-long Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded fellowship that educates and empowers early to mid-career physicians and physician assistants, practicing in medically underserved areas, rural communities, and federally qualified health centers (FQHC’s) who are currently in emerging leadership roles. After completing this program, participants will be ready to lead change and advocate for health equity within their institutions, surrounding communities, and at the local, state, and national levels

Purpose

This program strives to strengthen primary care and the healthcare workforce by establishing fellowship programs to train practicing community-based, primary-care physician and/or physician assistant champions to lead health care transformation and enhance teaching in community-based settings. Characteristics of transformed healthcare delivery systems identified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services include:

• Integrated or virtually integrated delivery models across the care continum;
• Coordinated care across all providers and settings;
• A high level of patient engagement and quantifiable improvements in patient experiences;
• Leveraging the use of health information technology to improve quality;
• Providers performing at the top of their license and board certification;
• Integration of population health measures into the delivery system: and
• Data-driven health system processes.

HRSA also recognizes addressing social determinants of health as a characteristic of transformed healthcare delivery systems.

Objectives

• Develop leadership capacity in healthcare transformation for primary-care professionals;
• Increase integrated and coordinated care services within and between care settings;
• Improve the quality of care in healthcare organizations; and
• Increase patient access to care.

Benefits

HRSA will provide physicians and physician assistants who have completed Primary Care Transformation Executive (PCTE) fellowships with priority status when applying for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment (LRP) awards. Participants in the NHSC LRP, NHSC Scholarship Program, and NHSC Students to Service LRP interested in participating in a PCTE primary-care leadership fellowship program may convert to a half-time contract and continue satisfying their service obligation.

Each fellow will:

• Earn CME through leadership, integrated health, and quality improvement course instruction
• Engage in practical leadership and quality improvement instruction through virtual, clinic, and in-person site visits
• Participate in monthly coaching sessions by Ï㽶ÊÓƵ faculty and related SMEs
• Complete a healthcare transformation project with a focus on one of the three HHS priorities — childhood obesity, mental health and opioid abuse — to benefit your practice and community
• Build leadership skills that strengthen change processes in organizations
• Receive support in presenting and publishing their Healthcare Transformation Project (HTP)
• Join a network of CHAMPS fellows to serve as mentors to future CHAMPS superstars

CHAMPS 2022 - 2023 Fellow Bios

• Sherlonda Adkins, DMSc, PA-C

  

  Dr. Sherlonda Adkins, physician assistant, is a native of South Carolina where she founded PsychMyway, South Carolina’s 1st PA-owned outpatient telepsychiatry practice. She also practices on location in the northwest region of SC and in the United States Virgin Islands as one of the few psychiatric providers in the territory. Dr. Adkins is the founder of Black PAs of South Carolina and also advocates for the PA profession at the national level.

  Dr. Adkins earned a Doctor of Medical Science from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from the Medical University of South Carolina, a Masters in Public Administration, a joint program through the University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the College of Charleston.

  Dr. Adkins is a motivational speaker and success coach primarily serving healthcare providers who find themselves feeling STUCK or burned out when their current goals, career expectations, or interests shift and no longer represent who they are. Her area of special interest includes combating the high rates of burnout reported by PAs, NPs and MDs. Her work consists of implementing burnout prevention strategies which will improve the mental health and wellness of highly skilled healthcare providers so that they can remain in the healthcare workforce delivering high quality care.

  Dr. Adkins is married to her college sweetheart, Rev. Randy Adkins, Jr., and they have three children. Her hobbies include listening to music, amateur photography, dancing, and travel for missions and pleasure (23 countries...and counting)!

• Patricia Kelly Marsh, MD

  

  Dr. Patricia Kelly Marsh is an Atlanta native who grew up in College Park. Dr. Marsh is a national award winning, Board Certified, Family Medicine physician who graduated from Temple University School of Medicine. Currently, she's the CEO and Cofounder of Ask Me Your MD, Inc. - a global physician chat for patients to get answers to their medical questions. She serves her Atlanta community as the Health Committee Chair of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. - Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter, advocating for black women and girls in the area of Health, Education, Public Policy and Economic Empowerment.

  Dr. Marsh built transformative technology; her other apps, Background Noise and ShhParty App, bring joy and music to the world. She is heavily dedicated to science, technology, medicine and music and vows to make the world a better place with her innovations.

• LaTasha Seliby Perkins, MD

  

  Dr. LaTasha Seliby Perkins, MD, is currently a practicing family physician at MedStar Primary Care at Ft. Lincoln, Family Medicine Residency Clinic, and Assistant Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM), Department of Family Medicine where she is the Course Director of Community-Based Learning. Additionally, she serves as the director of the DC Area Health Education Center Primary Care Mentorship Program, with the aim of connecting medical and other health professional students to primary care physicians and providers who support their journey to becoming primary care professionals. Dr. Perkins also serves as GUSOM Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter's Faculty advisor, Co-Chair GUSOM Racial Justice Committee for Change's Well-Being, Responsiveness, and Experience Committee, and leads the Faculty Development Committees, Underrepresented Minority Faculty Mentorship Design team.

  Dr. Seliby arrived at Georgetown to serve as the School of Medicine’s inaugural Health and Media Fellow in the department of Family Medicine. Dr. Seliby has served as a contributor for the Washington Post and ABC News and has been featured in magazines such as Glamour speaking about health issues that disproportionately affect Black women and other marginalized communities. Dr. Seliby’s hope is to aggressively influence positive change in both the social and political determinants of health, health care disparities and health education for minority and underserved populations. Her goal is to leave a legacy that improves the general public’s view of the Family Medicine, Primary Care and Minority physicians via mass communication, education, community health, and the intersectionality of all the aforementioned entities.

• Keila Simmons, MD, FAAP

  

  Dr. Keila Simmons was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Go Steelers!), but is a southerner at heart. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Spelman College. She then attended Meharry Medical College, where she obtained her Doctorate in Medicine.

  Dr. Simmons completed her pediatrics residency training at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and joined the Morehouse faculty as Chief Resident in the Department of Pediatrics. Following chief year, she remained on staff in the Department of Pediatrics, working primarily at Grady East Point. In her current role, she also serves as the Medical Director at Grady East Point and Chief of Service for Family Medicine.

• Sara Trivette, PA-C

  

  Sara Trivette attended the University of Iowa for PA School and was a National Health Service Corp Scholar. She graduated in 2006 and began working at an FQHC, Albany Area Primary Healthcare, AAPHC, in Albany, GA where she provided primary care at multiple sites until 2013 when AAPHC opened its first School Based Health Center at Turner Elementary. At that time, she began focusing on school-based health. Turner Elementary was part of Hallways to Health at its inception as well as involved in data collection and reporting for an NIH study from Dr. Veda Johnson and PARTNERS. Both grants/studies had a strong focus on health promotion, prevention, a focus on quality healthcare, and working to improve health equity.

  In 2016, Sara was a Leadership Fellow for the School Based Health Alliance. Sara was the Chair of the department for School Based Health at AAPHC until 8/2022 when her family moved to the Athens area. As department Chair, she oversaw significant growth of the SBHC department at AAPHC to include 8 locations in 4 school districts with another location in another school district coming soon. Turner Elementary is consistently toured by other FQHCs in the state for insight into developing a sustainable and comprehensive school-based health center.

  Sara is currently looking forward to working with Athens Neighborhood Health Center to expand their School Based Health Department down the road as well. She is passionate about expanding access to high quality equitable healthcare and excited to be part of the CHAMPS cohort.

Apply

Applications are currently being accepted for the 2023-2024 Cohort. Please apply online below.

For more information contact Christopher Ervin, M.D. or Krystle Richardson. 

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This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Grant #T13HP31903, Primary Care Training and Enhancement: Training Primary Care Champions for $1,985,744. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.