Augsburg University Assistant Professor of Nursing Katie Martin is the recipient of a $160,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Health to support infant health in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Martin is a certified midwife who has been providing care to expecting mothers in the area for over 20 years. Since beginning her academic tenure at Augsburg in 2021, she has become a coordinator at the Health Commons and the director of the BSN-completion program in addition to her teaching responsibilities.

“I have been honored to work at the Health Commons in Cedar Riverside over this past year and am so excited that this generous grant allows us to be able to expand the work we do,” Martin says. “We’ll restart programs that were happening pre-pandemic centered on maternal and infant health through community-led programming and community-based research.”

The funds from this grant will support new projects at the Health Commons in Cedar-Riverside, a health-focused drop-in center that is offered through a decade-long partnership between Augsburg, M Health Fairview, and the East Africa Health Project. Aligned with the goal to reduce infant mortality in Minnesota, Martin and the Health Commons team are focused on three objectives: 

1. Infants in the Cedar-Riverside community are born at term and at a healthy weight.
2. Infants in the Cedar-Riverside community survive and thrive in their first year of life.
3. East African Immigrants trust and feel safe with their health care providers in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.

This grant-funded work will be led by an Infant Health Advisory Committee organized by Martin. Much of the activities of the grant include offering infant health educational courses, distributing safe cribs, increasing safe sleep messaging and prenatal care, and hosting monthly birth celebrations at the Health Commons in Cedar-Riverside. Additionally, graduate students will be able to complete a paid internship through this grant and assist in a research project. This grant will also support ongoing programming and health services currently offered at the Health Commons, such as blood pressure checks and movement and mindfulness classes.

“This grant was extremely competitive and is a tribute to Dr. Martin’s expertise in infant health, health equity, and her relationships in Cedar-Riverside,” said Associate Professor Katie Clark, chair of Augsburg’s department of nursing and executive director of the Health Commons.  “Congratulations, Dr. Martin!”

Learn more about Augsburg’s Health Commons locations, range of services, and operating hours.

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No, these Augsburg physician assistant students were not messing around with the equipment or just taking a break from studying in the halls of Anderson. They were completing a unit on working with older adults by hosting a community health fair for residents of Augustana Apartments in downtown Minneapolis.

On this afternoon, second-year students in the last semester of the academic phase of their program worked in groups sharing information with residents about wellness, specific health problems of older adults, exercise, nutrition, socialization, and community resources.

Ashley Millette and Nick Meath were two students who helped residents learn about assessing their risk for a stroke. They offered a light-hearted video clip to give information about this serious topic. “We think it’s important for older adults to recognize the signs of stroke,” Millette says. She added that stroke is the third leading cause of death among older Americans and 80 percent of strokes are preventable.”

“It’s a great experience, especially for students who haven’t been able to grow up knowing their grandparents,” says Andrea Wold, one of the students. Her group gave samples of a low-calorie fruit dip and shared recipes for soups, salads, and desserts that were especially selected for the residents.

“The intent is to help students get a better understanding of the challenges and issues faced by the older adult community,” says Beth Alexander, an associate professor in the PA program. “A lot of these students don’t spend much time with older adults, and we feel it’s important to train them to care for patients of all ages.”

The Augsburg PA program is unique in that it dedicates an interdisciplinary unit to study healthcare issues of the aging population. In addition to learning about the needs of older adults, students are paired with a senior mentor for 10 months. Students will spend time with the mentor learning about their lives, sometimes taking them to doctor appointments or engaging in recreational activities.

“Many students become friends of their mentors and continue to see them after the semester ends,” Alexander adds.

After completing the academic phase of their program, students will move into clinical rotations. To learn more about the Augsburg Physician Assistant program, go to the admissions .

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Augsburg was one of the founding members of the Cedar-Riverside Partnership, a group made of the institutions in the neighborhood that are attempting to leverage their resources to make improvements to the area.

In taking a long-term look at the neighborhood, one of the biggest challenges is to determine how the youth of Cedar-Riverside can they be put in position to make a positive impact and have personal success as they become adults. Combine that with Fairview’s predicted need for more healthcare professionals moving forward, and the idea of hosting a Scrubs Camp with HealthForce Minnesota became reality.

On Sunday, more than 70 high school students—the overwhelming majority from Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools and many from within blocks of Augsburg—moved onto campus for the week.

Over the next several days, the students will learn about possible careers in the healthcare field, experience college for a few days, and hopefully become excited about their futures. The model is based on the Scrubs Camp held each summer at Winona State University.

The programming for the camp is varied. There are sessions on preparing for college and presentations on various health career options. Students will spend a morning touring the U of M, there is a day at Snelling State Park, and MnSCU’s mobile simulation lab will be on campus on Tuesday.

Many from the Augsburg community will play a role in the programming for the camp as students will learn about recovering and addiction counseling from Patrice Salmeri, being a physician assistant from faculty member Brenda Talarico, about nutrition from Brian Noy, and about water quality testing from chemistry faculty member Joan Kunz. A number of Augsburg students will also be involved with the camp.

The students will stay and eat at Augsburg though the end of the day on Thursday. The camp is also sponsored by HealthForce Minnesota, Fairview Health Systems, and the University of Minnesota.

Read the StarTribune article.

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