People at the 2023 Health Equity Summit

Closing the Margin for a Healthier Tomorrow

November 3, 2023 by Angela Ferrante

Photos by David Seaver

Collaborating with the Larner College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the University of Vermont Health Network, the University of Vermont hosted the 2023 Health Equity Summit. This event, themed “Closing the Margin: Avenues to Health Equity,” aimed to address health disparities and inequities in local and global communities.

The summit, held at UVM’s Dudley H. Davis Center, spanned two days. On October 29, the program featured poster presentations and a welcome reception led by Karen Vastine, Senior Community Relations Officer for UVM Health Network. Larner College of Medicine students played a significant role in the poster presentations, highlighting their work on various health equity studies, such as health literacy and food insecurity. 

“In 2022 alone, two out of five Vermonters faced food insecurity,” stated Wendy Memishian, Class of 2025. “Our study revealed significant gaps in common knowledge about food insecurity and SNAP.”


Wendy Memishian '25 with a fellow medical student

Wendy Memishian '25 with a fellow medical student

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal initiative designed to provide food-purchasing support to individuals with low or no income, aiding them in maintaining proper nutrition and good health.

Memishian’s project involved recruiting members of the Larner College of Medicine community and challenging them to live on the SNAP budget of $6.10 per day for a week, based on the Food Action and Research Center’s “SNAP Challenge.” The project provided resources to participants to help them succeed and encouraged their attendance at food insecurity research and resource events organized by Memishian. 

“We conducted pre- and post-challenge surveys,” explained Memishian. “While there may be some adjustments for future iterations, we found that most participants would willingly take part again, with nearly all agreeing that food insecurity should be more robustly integrated into the medical student curriculum at Larner.”

Jasmine Bazinet-Phillips '25

Jasmine Bazinet-Phillips '25

Jasmine Bazinet-Phillips and Ashwini Sarathy, both Class of 2025, presented their project, titled “Promoting Childhood Literacy in New Immigrant Burlington Families.” This endeavor received support from Burlington’s City Market through the Friends of Fletcher Free Library: Early Childhood Literacy and Prenatal Nutrition Counseling grant. The students collaborated with local organizations like Champlain Valley Head Start and the Fletcher Free Library to host their event in October.

“The goal of this project is to bridge the early childhood literacy and pre-/post-natal nutrition gap for low-income and New American families, ensuring an equitable start for all families in the Burlington community,” shared Bazinet-Phillips. “It was incredibly gratifying to witness these families receive their childhood literacy and nutrition resource boxes.”

“Look at Larner was a mirror,” said Bazinet-Phillips.

“Each participant, sitting in front of me, visiting Larner, could become a doctor. And I needed these participants to believe it the same way I did.”

The main event took place on October 30. The focus of the second day of the 2023 Health Equity Summit was to address health disparities and institutional inequities. Speakers, workshops, and sessions promoted collaboration, innovation, and practical strategies for better health outcomes, improved patient experiences, and advancements in health equity. 

Associate Teaching Professor and Assistant Dean for Social and Health Justice at the University of Washington School of Medicine Edwin Lindo, J.D., opened the second day of the summit, exploring the impact of race and racism in medicine and law. He employed an interdisciplinary approach, including Critical Race Theory and community organizing. Lindo has taught and developed curricula on these issues and also hosted The Praxis Podcast and co-founded Estelita’s Library, a social justice community library and bookstore, and North Star Cycling, the largest BIPOC cycling club on the West Coast. 

Workshops on various topics, such as rural health equity and community-based health initiatives for the LGBTQIA+ population, cultural humility, and racial disparity in health care, were conducted throughout the day. Larner faculty members, including Anthony Williams, M.D., Katie Wells, M.D., M.P.H., Leilia Amiri, Ph.D., and Molly Rideout, M.D., played key roles in leading some of these workshops. Students including Bazinet-Phillips, Mialovena Exume ʼ24, and Warrick Sahene ʼ24 also presented on such topics as mentorship opportunities for BIPOC students pursuing health care professions—highlighting the College’s Look at Larner program.

“Look at Larner was a mirror,” said Bazinet-Phillips. “Each participant, sitting in front of me, visiting Larner, could become a doctor. And I needed these participants to believe it the same way I did.” 

The Look at Larner program is a student-led, two-day initiative at the Larner College of Medicine, aimed at providing mentorship and outreach to underrepresented applicants to medical school. The program was conceptualized by Larner students Exume and Sahene and held its second annual event in September of this year. 

“When I was a college freshman, an advisor discouraged me from pursuing a pre-med track, claiming it was too challenging,” recalled Sahene. “I didn’t take that advice, but it opened my eyes to the lack of mentorship and support available to students of color aspiring to enter the medical field. Now, as a med student, I wanted to help create those opportunities and networking connections for others—opportunities that weren’t necessarily available to me.”

 

The summit closed with a speech titled “Constant Recalibration: Finding Pathways to Health Equity” presented by Monica Vela, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Hispanic Center of Excellence at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Vela has served as an associate editor for JAMA Network Open and has contributed substantial research toward such essential topics as workforce diversity and health disparities; her work on these subjects has been cited in the Supreme Court case Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin. 

“When it comes to achieving health equity, we must embrace a comprehensive approach, addressing every element—social, environmental, economic, and structural factors—everywhere, at all times, and all at once,” finished Vela. “To effect these transformative changes, we require the moral courage to undertake difficult tasks. We need leaders who are unafraid to publicly recognize the necessity for change, to integrate health equity into the very essence of medicine’s mission, and to call upon everyone to play their part.”


Woman speaking at lectern

Professor of Medicine and Director of the Hispanic Center of Excellence at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Monica Vela, M.D., closes out the 2023 Health Equity Summit

“When it comes to achieving health equity, we must embrace a comprehensive approach, addressing every element—social, environmental, economic, and structural factors—everywhere, at all times, and all at once,” - Monica Vela, M.D.