PUBLIC HEALTH INTERNSHIP
East Georgia Healthcare Center
Baylee Turner
ABOUT EGHC
• Non-profit Healthcare Center
• Serves 14 Counties in Southeast Georgia
• Varity of Services: adult & pediatric medicine, chronic care management, behavioral
health, dental care, chiropractic care, family planning, pharmacy services, optometry,
telemedicine, and health insurance enrollment
• Priority Population: Low Income & Uninsured
• EGHC Mission: To help all people live healthy lives by providing quality, primary, and
preventive health services
RESPONSIBILITIES/ROLES
• Shadowing
• Observed Nurse Practitioner Kim Fulmer & Phyllis Dixon
• Patient records and documentation
• Reviewed patient records and documentation to ensure they were up to date, accurate, and scanned
into eClinicalWorks
• Patient Care
• Assisted with Patient Vitals
• Camp Visits
• Assisted with Health Screenings
• Preventive Care
• Colorectal Cancer Screenings
PATIENT RECORDS AND DOCUMENTATION
• Adult and Pediatric Patient Demographic
information
• English and Spanish
• Important to update each visit
• Patient Contact Info
• Emergency Contact Info
PATIENT RECORDS AND DOCUMENTATION
• HIPAA From
• Authorizes EGHC to use and disclose info to those
listed by patient
• Medical Release Form
• Authorizes EGHC to disclose patient’s medical info
to to another medical center or healthcare provider
PATIENT RECORDS AND DOCUMENTATION
• Sliding Fee Scale
• EGHC is not a free clinic
• If patient cannot pay the full amount, arrangement
can be made
• Bases payment on on patients’ income and family
size
• To qualify, patient must complete the application
• Others:
• Lily Cares
• Farmworker
• Family Planning/Planning for Healthy Babies
• Several Patient Assistance Programs
PATIENT CARE
• Assisted with patient visits
• Take patients back to the examination room
• Recorded patient vitals
• Hight & Weight
• Temp
• Pulse Rate (Heart Rate)
• Blood Pressure
• Respiratory Rate
• Oxygen Saturation
• Pain level
CAMP VISITS
• 3 Mobile Units
• Expand our reach outside of the clinic office
• Health screenings for underserved populations
• Visit Process
• Check-in/Paperwork
• Vitals
• Provider
• Infographics
• Medicine & Tests
• Prescriptions
CAMP VISITS
INTERNSHIP PROJECT
• Goal: 10% increase in colorectal cancer screening rates at EGHC within the 4 months of my internship
• Colorectal Cancer (CRC)
• 3rd most common cancer among men and women
• Affects all races, genders, and ethnicities
• The most preventable, yet least prevented, cancer
• Many with early-stage CRC have no symptoms
• ~75% of people have no family history
• It is on the rise in people ages 45-49
• CRC screenings can help find CRC in early stages
• When caught in the early stages, CRC is more treatable in ~90% of people
PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION
• CRC Chart Prep
• Shared Decision-Making Process
1. Educate patients about the importance of
prioritizing CRC screening
2. Engage with patience in shared decision-making
by talking to them about screening options
3. Set CRC Screening by discussing what CRC
screening does and offering tips to help patients
complete the test correctly
https://www.cologuard.com/how-to-use-cologuard
• Inform Provider of Preferred Screening
• Record Preferred Screening
• Patient Demographics
• Name CRC SCREENING PREP/RECORDS
• Provider Name
• Acc #
• Age 45+
• Sex
• Insurance
• Phone #
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Translator Requirements
• CRC Screenings (Past & Present)
• Date
• Type
• Results
1. Colonoscopy (visual exam)
• High/Average Risk
CRC SCREENING OPTIONS
• 10 Years
• Invasive
• Prep Required
2. Cologuard (multitarget stool DNA test)
• Average Risk
• 3 Years
• Non-invasive
• No Prep Required
3. FIT/FOBT (fecal immunochemical
test/fecal occult blood test)
• Average Risk
• 1 Year
• Non-invasive
• No Prep Required
METTER CRC SCREENING RATES
• Georgia Colorectal Cancer Control Program
• Jan-Dec 2024 Metter Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates
• Overall 6.4%
• Men 3.4%
• Women 9.4%
• Hispanic 4.6%
• African American 4.3%
• White 8.2%
• Uninsured 4.0%
• Insured 7.9%
EVALUATION
• My Goal: 10% increase in colorectal cancer screening rates at EGHC within the 4
months of my internship
• Current Progress: The overall 2024 screening rate increased by 6.4% compared to last
years numbers at this time
• Challenges/Obstacles
• At-home Screening
• Patient Error: Inadequate specimen collection, incomplete labeling, age of specimen
• Patient Refusal
• EGHC Priority Population (In 2023, the uninsured population had the lowest # of screening rates)
IMPACT OF EXPERIENCE
• Skills
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Collaboration
• Confidence
• Adaptability
• Time Management
• Future Career
• Explored various aspects of Public Health and the healthcare system
• Built a Network
• Narrowed my interests, passions, and goals
