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Summer interns write grant, receive funding The Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation awarded $14,000 in response to a grant application from two MUSC interns seeking equipment and structural improvements for the Sea Island Medical Center (SIMC) on Johns Island.   Interns Ruchir “Ricky” Patel and Melissa Cox submitted a grant with the help of Deborah Williamson, DHA, R.N., College of Nursing associate dean for practice, seeking financial assistance for capital improvements of SIMC, a community partner that provides affordable health care to low-income residents. The foundation award will pay for a much needed revamping of the facility’s exterior, front desk, waiting area, patient care rooms, and restrooms.   SIMC is used to provide undergraduate and graduate nursing, medical and health professions students with an opportunity to gain clinical experience. The center also offers educational information on: diabetes, childhood development and adolescent health.   Patel finished his first year in MUSC’s Master of Healthcare Administration program and spent his summer working with the CON Hispanic Initiative and the SIMC. Cox came to MUSC from the University of Michigan where she is pursuing her master’s in public health. Cox spent three months last summer in the CON where she created programs and models for domestic violence prevention and teen health literacy, as well as grant writing.     “The excellent work of graduate students Ricky Patel and Melissa Cox demonstrates the value of community partnerships in providing relevant learning experiences for the students within the community,” Williamson said. “The health center on Johns Island is a safety net provider where currently 53 percent of the patients seen are uninsured. Providing affordable health care to the uninsured and the underinsured limits funds for capital improvements. The importance of the physical environment on the patient’s perception of the quality of services and satisfaction with the services provided was recognized by SIMC and proposed as a student project.”     Friday, Oct. 12, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.