Community Partnerships in Action

How can medical schools build stronger, more meaningful partnerships with the communities they serve? In this episode of the UB Medicine Podcast, host Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, explores how the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is working alongside community organizations, advocates, patients, and neighbors to advance health, opportunity, and better outcomes across Western New York.

Joining the conversation are Anyango Kamina, PhD, assistant dean for trainee and faculty development, and Michael Lamb, PhD, psychologist, educator, and trauma-informed care advocate. Together, they discuss the importance of listening to community voices, supporting learners and faculty in community-engaged work, and creating educational experiences that connect students with real-world health challenges and lived experiences.

The episode highlights initiatives such as Community Connect within the Well Beyond Curriculum, community-partnered learning opportunities, and trauma-informed approaches to patient care. Guests also share how these experiences help future physicians better understand social drivers of health, build trust with patients and communities, and become more compassionate and effective health care leaders.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about the power of collaboration, the value of community wisdom, and how sustained partnerships are helping shape the future of medical education and health care.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the UB Medicine Podcast. I'm Dr. Allison Brashir, Dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and the Vice President for Health Sciences at the University at Buffalo. Today we're focusing on something fundamental to our mission as a school: our commitment to partnering with the community to advance health, opportunity, and better outcomes across Western York. We do this by connecting our learners, our faculty, our staff with organizations and neighborhoods across the region, creating meaningful, sustained opportunities to learn, collaborate, and serve. At the Jacob School, we know real progress happens through partnership with community organizations, advocates, and neighbors who bring deep expertise and a lived experience to the conversation. Our students and faculty learn most when they listen, they build trust, and they show up consistently in those spaces. This comes to life in how we support our learners and our faculty engaged in community-based work and how community voices shape our curriculum and outreach, and how we partner to strengthen these partnerships over time. So, joining me are two colleagues who are deeply involved in this work. Dr. Anjanka Kamina is the assistant dean for trainee and faculty development and a research assistant professor at the Jacobs School. She focuses on strengthening the learning environment and supporting learners and faculty engaged in the community-focused and equity center work. We're also joined by Michael Lamb, a psychologist and educator and trauma-informed care advocate at the Jacobs School, where he serves as a research assistant professor. Mike helps lead programming that connects students with community organizations and individuals who share powerful lived experiences to deepen learning, strengthen compassion, and community-centered care. Anjango and Mike, thank you for being here. And thank you for the work that you do to connect our university and our school to the communities that we serve. So we'll start really with the big picture here. First of all, what do you think the relationship between the Jacob School and the wider community does to form a strong partnership? What does a strong partnership look like to you?

unknown 2:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Thank you for having me here. So when I think of community engagement, I see it as, you know, essentially, you know, building interactions and participating within community. And so in order to do that, you know, you want to be make sure that the interactions are meaningful. You want to make sure that there's, you know, strong there's an interaction between both partners in a way that is impactful. There's collective problem solving. So the only way to really do that is that that partnership has to have trust as well as transparency in terms of intention. So having trust that the um uh the partnership is of mutual value, and then that there is um some form of uh a capacity building where both partners are going to be able to empower each other and that way you can have some long-term partnerships.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Capacity building so important and often uh overlooked. Absolutely. Mike, what does it look like to you?

SPEAKER_01 3:20

I think big picture for me, it's a partnership that both sides would understand is a strong partnership, right? That both sides feel is robust, it's mutually supportive, where everyone is included and invited to get meaningfully involved and they can contribute their knowledge, their understanding. And to me, it's important toward a set of community-generated goals, right? That we're not dictating the terms of the discussion.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

That's a great point. So community-generated goals. So could you give us a brief example of what that kind of would look like and then how you translate those goals into impact?

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Yeah. Um, we used to go out into the communities for listening sessions, and sometimes we would go out with too sharp an agenda, too focused an agenda. And one of the things that we started hearing from community members was we're actually worried about our feet, we're worried about basic mobility issues. We're about worried about diabetic wounds, we're fearful of amputation. And that started our whole free foot clinic effort, which I can talk about at greater length later or or now if you would want to.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yeah, give us a short version of the Free Foot Clinic.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Uh every couple months we pack up all our stuff and we go out to a trusted community space. We set up there. It's medical students, it's vascular surgeons, it's our trainees. Uh, shout out Dr. Harris, Dr. Linda Harris, and Dr. Britney Montrose, great medical students. We bring everything out to a church, to a community center, to a gymnasium, to a senior center, and we set up and we offer free foot care to all who come in.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

That's wonderful. That's uh thank you for sharing. Anjanka, what's an example of the community engagement?

SPEAKER_02 5:00

Yeah, so when I think of um impact, it's where community members really feel that they have a voice and they are they're informing the discussions that are happening. So I kind of have more of a fun example. So one of the initiatives that our office um started last year was that we host movie nights at the Jacob School. And so this is where we stream a movie uh with our community members, and then we have um uh discussions based on health-related topics that are highlighted there. And uh so far uh our own physicians have been the ones that have been leading the uh the discussions. Um so last year we had uh we streamed Inside Out, uh, which talks a lot about emotions, and then this past year we uh in the spring we did Zootopia, which talked a lot about like identity, belonging, and like you know, being in an in-group versus out group. And so it's really exciting to see like the kids be able to engage with the physicians who they usually see in the clinic or in the hospital, but they're now engaging with them in this space and actually talking about a movie and using that to highlight you know really important topics about, again, identity, emotion, mental health, and wellness. And so community members have been excited that we've created this space where it's very welcoming for them to engage in that deeper conversation about important conversations, but then at the same time, like it's in a more of an innocuous environment environment to say. So that has, to me, has shown that when we create spaces for them to actually inform and um for them to continue to interact uh with us on these topics that matter.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

That's a great, great example. So for our listeners, um, you know, we have listeners that are across New York State, but we have them across the country. And we even have some listeners in you know across Europe and well beyond. So uh for those of who haven't been to Buffalo, our medical school was relocated in downtown Buffalo and is really an anchor for the engagement with the community. Um, and we're you know in the city and we're part of the revitalization of the city, and we're here to serve the community in which we live. So we're talking about community engagement. And one of the things I think is, you know, you mentioned listening, but but how do you create that that listening, that virtuous cycle of continual partnership? Mike, I know you've done um we brought a lot of people into our school, but we also go out of our school.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

That's right. Um, and I think uh one of the aspects, and I'm just gonna go back to the foot clinics for a moment, because people come in off the street, and the very first thing that happens is they sit down in a chair, and one of us gets down in front of them with a basin of fresh soapy water and we wash their feet, right? And I think that flipping of the usual posture, right? I I really do think sometimes it's just a postural thing, it's just a shift in perspective. But I think it makes so we're there with our Dopplers, we're there with our A1C tests, we do all that. We have these very, very gifted um surgeons out there, you know, negotiating aftercare and setting up really high, high um level referrals. But I think the first thing you have to show is that you're genuinely interested in where they are, that you're not gonna run away, you're not there for five minutes because you got somewhere else to go. You're genuinely available to them. And I think right down to the bodily posture, that's that's a big part of listening, is demonstrating. I remember when my mom had a stroke, sure her responses were very uh slow. But I think what was really beautiful sometimes it would take her 30 or 40 seconds to respond. But you could see that it was deep to her when I was still present with her, still waiting for her response rather than just moving on to something else.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

That's a great story. That is a great story. So um, Anjango, we've also been out of the community. We we go to multiple events, but the medical school in the proximity of the city of Buffalo opens its doors for so many things like movie night. So I think every week or so there's something going on here, and and you've you've uh been one of the leaders in that space. Talk a little bit about what we you've done.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Uh so we've done a lot. I I think the the angle that I have taken in terms of the you know commit community engagement work that we do is that I I try to find and create space for organizations to be able to come and showcase the things that they do so that members of our school are aware of what it is that's you know, all of the work that's happening in Western New York. So we've had um a community engagement fair that actually last year turned into Halloween at the Jacob School. And I and this was based again on feedback and me trying to find opportunities where we can really maximize again engagement. And so the the reason why it was Halloween was because it was a challenge for our departments and units to essentially make STEM accessible activities. And you know, I had them do a competition to be able to create um activities that they're gonna engage our community members with, and then also they again invited the community organizations to table, but they too had to have some type of activity that tied back to their work. So the engagement is more about um promoting curiosity and having our attendees, you know, kind of really feel again that they are you know being part of the conversation and they are, you know, we're not just telling them what to do, but they're actively interacting with different things.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

That's that's a great story. So um as we think about trainees and faculty development, you know, when I went to medical school, none of what you described existed, right? You sat in a class, you memorized a bunch of stuff, uh, and and that was it, right? And and this is a totally different level of medical education. Um so how do we support our faculty and our learners who and and really I guess Mike, how do we help them go into the community in a thoughtful manner? Um, you know, it used to be people would go, I've got a clinical trial, I'm gonna go out in the community and recruit for this trial. And what you're framing is a completely different way of having the community at your side on a continuous basis.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Yeah, um Paul Farmer used to talk a lot about the concept of accompaniment, and I really, you know, I believe very strongly in that. And we will talk a little bit more about Community Connect as we move on. But I think that, you know, uh my amazing colleague Fatima Noor and I, we put a lot of thought into the orientation. We bring in members of the community. We ourselves are very vulnerable about times that we've made errors, right? I've certainly made errors in my engagements with other human beings, and I try and be as open about that as possible, as specific about that as possible, so that they can learn from my own pitfalls and go out in a different stance with a different posture toward the community.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Okay, that's a great example. So you mentioned community connect, so I'm gonna build upon that. And that's part of our new Well Beyond curriculum that is now entering its third year. It's been going really, really well. So, how does the Community Connect, first of all, Mike, just what is it? And then how does it bridge the classroom into real-world community engagement like we've been talking about?

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Yeah, it's part of this amazing new curriculum, and we place my colleague Fatima and I, we place every new medical student on a team for the first 18 months of their time in medical school at a community-based organization, working there every other week. We have more than 50 incredible partner organizations. You got Buffalo City Mission, you got Rahama, Harvest House, Native American Community Services, all these spaces. One of my favorite things to do is, you know, go around on Wednesdays to the different sites and check in. And I see our students engaged in the widest range of activities. They're playing with kids, they're doing meal prep for our unhoused neighbors. You know, it's it's just the most inspiring thing. And I, you know, in any institution, one can get a little insulated. And that our aim is to gently and in a way that is really joyous, kind of take away some of that insulation and say, let's go meet our neighbors.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

That's great. So, Anjango, um uh community connect, I think, then can builds the beginning of the bridges that you've been continuing. Um, so hopefully we'll have students that beyond their 18 months are gonna continue to be engaged in the community and be role models. Um and and how can we, as faculty, and you're in faculty development as well, really lean into that? Do you do you have some thoughts?

SPEAKER_02 13:21

I do, and I think um, you know, just kind of uh connecting from what um Mike said, most of the students who are participating in Community Connect are medical students, but we also have you know activities that we do for our doctoral and and uh graduate students to again also engage with it with the community, and it does really start with learning. I know you mentioned that, you know, uh we even back in my day, we did we just did classes and that was and went to lab and that was pretty much it. But we're now realizing that you know this is our uh our role in terms of promoting scientific literacy, and so we have to really prepare our trainees to uh to be ready to be uh you know work with community members. Um, and so one thing I just wanted to mention was that you know our doctoral trainees actually have a summer class that they participate in that I instruct where we talk about the impact of research and biomedical research specifically on communities so that they're able to connect science and uh community together, uh community together. And so once they do that, right, so then the goal is that now they can get involved with the work that my office does and you know essentially volunteer or create you know activities. So we have our STEM ambassadors that I'm pretty sure Dr. Surtez has mentioned before, where the goal is for us to, you know, think about how we can promote scientific literacy and continue to um have STEM outreach, but have our our uh trainees be the one leading that that cause.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

That's absolutely, and we've talked with Dr. Surtees also about how we start early, whether it's it's not even just middle school, it's grade school. So um, because that's what the Jacob School wants to do, is create that path and that continual renewal of engagement and have students who you know start and and want to be engaged in the community. You know, I've been very clear my goal is to keep as many of our students here in in Western York and and make sure that we're really truly um transforming the health of Western York. So as we think about things like the power of learning directly from patients, from advocates, from community leaders like yourselves, Mike, you've talked a lot about the support and advocacy for trauma patients. Um ECMC, who's one of our important partners, is a level one trauma center. What does that look like specifically for trauma patients and who was involved in that?

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yeah, let me talk, let me go at it from the perspective of a trauma elective that that actually a group of our medical students created along with Dr. Schweitzberg and I. And it's quite simple in its construction, but I think it's really profound in its impact on the students. They spend half their time on the trauma surgery service at ECMC. They learn how to evaluate and manage trauma patients, but the other half of the time they spend at our trauma recovery center, which I believe is the only one in this region. It's called Brave. Shout out to Paula, shout out to Aliyah and Willie. Extraordinary space. So they might, a single um, you know, a medical student who takes this elective might be there in the trauma bay looking after the patient just as they come in, and then might also take part in a profound way by accompanying the Brave team and assisting them in their aftercare, assisting their family in their aftercare, looking after their social needs. And so it is just yet another way in which our medical students, we are encouraging them to get involved in something more than just that, you know. I mean, trauma is all about, you know, um the algorithm, right? Escaping the algorithm a little bit. Get it, it's you know, experts deal with that, that, you know, advanced trauma life support stuff. It's also important to get to know the families, to get to know the neighborhoods, to be a real part of the aftercare. And that's what this allows.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

That's great. And of course, ECMC is, you know, um just about a mile away, and that is the place of the level one trauma center. So that's really really important. Um so community organizations have a lived and the individuals have lived experiences, and and how do we bring that lived experience in a way that may be different from a classroom? We have Saving Alice, for example, which is a I was recently at the program where it was, you know, just profound. There were 800 some healthcare students across many of our schools, not just medicine, where a daughter shared how her mother passed because of med mismanagement. And that was a lived experience that she brought students into her world with a hope of changing the future. How do we do that, either of you?

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Um, I think thinking, you know, just expanding on what you said, right? Creating the spaces for us to really learn and know more about the lived experience. So we know that the lived experience is what makes kind of that experience unique, whether it's, you know, battling a disease or something that's like chronic. And so we may understand it from kind of the pathological aspect of it, but it's going to have such a different impact depending on the environment and the community that a particular individual is living, as well as the other factors that influence, you know, um health outcomes. So creating the space to do that. So for us, you know, one of the things that we do is we now have um, you know, symposia that specifically focuses on specific on different groups. So one of them is the Indigenous Health Symposium that we have hosted. And then we focused especially on maternal health outcomes because we have the data on the impact that um maternal wellness has on different communities, what happens to black mothers as well as you know, Indigenous mothers. And so we want to make sure that we're capturing those lived experiences to help our students understand that you know there could be other unique aspects that are making this even 10 times worse, you know, in this particular community than others. And so, how can that inform the approach that you're going to take in terms of really addressing the experience that they may be having and improve their health outcomes?

SPEAKER_00 18:58

That's a great example. And maternal mortality and infant mortality is a critical problem here in our region, and it and that's it's so important to take that holistic approach. Let's just think about uh if you know, um, if you had a um a wish for what things would be and how we would do community engagement in the future, um, what would that one thing be about how maybe the relationship between the Jacob School and the community serve? And what is one thing that you want listeners to take away from this conversation?

SPEAKER_02 19:31

I I want to say, I mean, it's been it is an honor to be, you know, in the last couple of years really connecting our school with the community. I think it is a lot of fun. So I'm grateful for having this job where I do get to, you know, engage with a lot of people. And so my wish and hope is that I want us to continue. I want us to continue to grow and innovate and just have um, you know, more connections. And so if anybody has ideas they want to share with me, I'm always open to thinking about how we can expand with the work that I do.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

That's excellent. Thank you. And Mike, what's uh your thought about one thing you want our listeners to take away?

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Uh one of my heroes is this great Russian uh literary critic whose name is Bektin, Mikhail Bakteen, and he made this distinction between texts that are monological and texts that are dialogical, right? The monological seeks to inculcate a single dominant voice, and the monological is genuinely open to the, or the dialogical is genuinely open to the multiple. And I think that there is enormous benefit. I think that we are proving it and we can prove it even more, particularly for those of us who spend a great deal of time within institutions, to get out into this polyphonic world, the social world, the multivocal world, and again into spaces that are arranged non-hierarchically where we can listen, where we can learn, and where we can serve.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Oh, so well said. Both the two of you summed that up so well. Um, and I'm just here to say that the Jacobs School is really committed to building strong and sustained partnerships with the community. And it's a true community partnership, is an ongoing commitment to listen, to serve, to act together, to plan together, as you mentioned, and to be visible when there are inequities and purposeful in making sure that you're addressing those. I think that's the level of engagement. And our medical school, with its localization in downtown Buffalo, the support from the community is in an ideal uh position to do that. Um, and I think that's one of the things that we can do so well, and the two of you and the programs that you lead have done so well. So I want to thank you both for being here and and really appreciate you both. And um, and that's a wrap. I'm uh Dr. Allison Brashir, and this is the U Be Medicine Podcast, and I want to thank you for listening. And if you have ideas that you want to hear about, please let us know. Thanks again.