Media Contact:
Beth Adams, 215-573-8224

Students, Faculty Reach Out to Community Devastated by Hurricane Katrina

February 27, 2008

Penn Dental Medicine students and faculty are sharing their skills and expertise with Gulf Coast residents who continue to be affected by Hurricane Katrina. As part of the Penn in the Gulf: SP2 Feldman Initiative, they have teamed with Penn's schools of Social Policy and Practice (SP2), Nursing, and Engineering and Applied Science to help address the health-care and social-services crisis that remains in Hancock County, Miss., more than two and a half years after Katrina devastated the region. Penn's SP2 launched the program this past fall and expanded it to include the other schools in an interdisciplinary approach to the challenges facing the area.

Hancock County is "the forgotten part of the Katrina disaster," says Project Coordinator Connie Hoe of SP2. "In fact, Pearlington [in Hancock County] had contact with the eye of the storm." Along with health-related issues, such as the safety of the water supply and access to care, observers have noted that after the hurricane, suicide, suicide attempts and instances of child abuse and domestic violence had skyrocketed, notes Hoe. There also was a surge in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

In January, more than 30 volunteers from the four schools went to Hancock County to host a health fair that attracted more than 300 people from approximately 100 households. Penn Dental Medicine students Amit Rajani (D'09), Gloria Hwang (D'09), and Sam Tam (D'09), along with Dr. Robert Collins, Director of the Division of Community Oral Health, and Dr. Joan Gluch, Director of Community Health, were among the participants, providing dental screenings; oral health education; and toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss to area residents attending the fair.

"An initial survey of Pearlington residents, conducted on previous visits by SP2, revealed that dental care was among the highest self-identified areas of need," says Mr. Rajani. "After Katrina hit, access to dental care in the area became a problem. Our objective was to assess the current situation, identify dental resources in and around the community, and come up with a plan to address the dental needs of the residents."

The students and faculty from Penn Dental Medicine worked with the Dental Director for Mississippi to conduct the screenings and met with staff from Coastal Health Care, a federally qualified health center, to understand access to health care and dental care for low income residents of Hancock County. They also attended a meeting of the Mississippi Dental Association to explain the Penn in the Gulf Initiative and learn more about access to dental care in the Gulf Coast counties of Mississippi.

During the visit, engineering students worked to repair a septic tank of a sinking home and sampled over 50 wells for water contamination, while nursing and SP2 students interviewed residents to assess the local health concerns. The students from all four Penn schools involved in the Penn in the Gulf: SP2 Feldman Initiative presented their findings from the Hancock County visit at a public panel discussion held on Penn's campus February 18.

The next steps include fully analyzing the data gathered from the screening examinations and completing a report with recommendations for follow-up. "Although we enjoyed thoroughly the visit to the area and the personal interactions with residents, our first priority would be to develop local options for dental care services to assure a greater probability of continuity of care," says Dr. Collins. "Nonetheless, an option will be considered for our students to return at a later date if necessary and provide dental services under appropriate faculty guidance."

Looking at the bigger picture, Penn in the Gulf's long-term goal is to produce a disaster-relief model that can be replicated by any university across the country. Program organizer Richard J. Gelles, Dean of Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice, noted at the panel discussion that "other schools are reading about what we're doing and thinking about inter-institutional partnerships. We're building something from the ground up, which is a result of our students."

Read other news stories.