The first Outstanding Contributions to Service Learning awards have been presented to Casey Kayser, clinical assistant professor of English in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and Fran Hagstrom,assistant dean of the College of Health and Education Professions. Together, Kayser and Hagstrom have demonstrated their deep commitment to the field of service learning.by working with Washington Regional Medical Centerr to develop and teach a series of three service learning courses. Community Health Coaches I, II, and III have had a significant impact on the Northwest Arkansas community, serving the area's most vulnerable community members. Students work with chronically ill patients and also learn valuable lessons that can solidify a desire to work in the medical field. Patients receive specialized, attentive health coaching while students gain hands-on experience working alongside accomplished medical providers at Washington Regional, thereby influencing the future healthcare and service field professionals these students become.

Students involved in the Health Coaches courses have consistently describeded positive and enriching experiences. One student, Olivia Tzeng '18, said the three-semester layout of the program allowed students "a natural learning curve and makes sure they are well-equipped with the appropriate level of knowledge and skill sets to truly impact their patient's care." The first semester, she said, "fully integrates classroom learning and experiential learning in a sustainable, long-term way, building a strong foundation of knowledge concerning the current state of the U.S. health care system while also learning about what it realistically means to be an effective health coach as a part of an interdisciplinary health team for at-risk patients." Tzeng went on to say that students entering the second and third semesters of the program "utilize this foundation of knowledge and learn to implement it in the field when they begin to meet with and support their respective patients. They have provided me with a very unique opportunity to learn firsthand from physicians and nurses at WRMC while also playing an active role in improving the lives of at-risk patients throughout our community."

The program's community partners at Washington Regional, too, have high regards for Kayser and Hagstrom. Dr. Mark Thomas, as the main point of contact between the Health Coaches program and the hospital, has praised both professors in their efforts. 

"Dr. Kayser has been the organizational glue that has held together this project," he said. "She has displayed extraordinary administrative skills in shepherding this idea through its development as a pilot to an established, highly rated and much sought after course. Moreover, her particular research and teaching interest in narrative medicine has opened the eyes and hearts of young pre-professional students. You cannot train future health professionals to be compassionate, to listen well, and to understand the multi-dimensional impact of illness without the stories that they become a part of and reflect on in Health Coaches.

"Dr. Hagstrom brings years of expertise both in pedagogy and health careers to this program. I don't think one graduate of this course will forget the particular challenges they faced by interviewing one of her role playing characters. She has linked our very much in the trenches 18-month curriculum to the wider service learning community so that interested students can understand health challenges from both a global and neighborhood perspective."

To learn more about the University of Arkansas Service Learning Initiative, visit servicelearning.uark.edu.