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7Jul, 2015
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ATSU-SOMA completes its pilot of VCHC cases

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During academic year 2014-15, 108 first-year students completed 14 Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC) case studies. Pilot data were collected in four domains: clinical reasoning, engagement, student peer collaboration, and community oriented primary care (COPC) awareness. In addition, A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) piloted one case study with residents. Preliminary data collected from exit surveys indicated that the students and residents found the case studies useful. During the next academic year (2015-16), the VCHC team will continue to analyze and report outcomes data as part […]
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22Apr, 2015
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The VCHC team presents at the 2015 AACOM Conference

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The American Association for Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Conference. The Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC) team presented a gallery of scenes from 14 virtual case studies. Each scenes demonstrates a unique teaching feature of the VCHC case studies.
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1Jan, 2015
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The VCHC project receives a grant from the Phoenix General Hospital Osteopathic Education Fund

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A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) received a $184,240 grant from the Phoenix General Hospital Osteopathic Education Fund (PGHOEF) to further develop the osteopathic education components of the Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC). Ultimately, the VCHC is aimed to equip healthcare professionals—students, residents, health center employees, and volunteers—with the knowledge to address looming major issues facing underserved communities. However, one of the core values and primary aims of the VCHC project is to emphasize the principles of osteopathic medicine in primary care instruction. To this end, […]
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26Oct, 2014
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The Virtual Community Health Center: context, community, and social justice

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Monica Fernandez, MMS, PA-C, presented the Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC) to the American Osteopathic Association of Medical Informatics (AOAMI) at the 119th Osteopathic Medical Conference & Exposition (OMED), Seattle, Wash. This presentation explained the development of the VCHC, the stranding of the patients into 10 distinct families, and five ethnicities, in an effort to present cases that are ethnically diverse and modern. A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) pioneered a nationally recognized innovative approach to training medical students in and around federally qualified community health […]
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19Sep, 2014
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The Virtual Community Health Center sees its first patients

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First-year medical students from A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) met, interviewed, and successfully treated their first patient in the innovative Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC). She is Mrs. Yazzie, a 60-year-old Navajo woman who finally decided to visit the CHC at the urging of her 14-year-old granddaughter, Jennifer, after months of worsening hand pain. Mrs. Yazzie is just one of many virtual patients who present to clinic with realistic, socially complex medical issues. In solving the case study, students learned the social determinants of health […]
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22Aug, 2014
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The launch of the VCHC at the 2014 NACHC-CHI conference in San Diego

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The National Association for Community Health Centers Community Health Expo (NACHC-CHI) NACHC-CHI participants chat with Thomas Bennett, DO about the Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC). The VCHC project aligns with national priorities to train medical students to enter primary care and serve vulnerable patient communities at clinics and community health centers. The VCHC team – Fred Schwartz, DO, Dr. Bennett, Monica Fernandez, MMS, PA-C, and Lise McCoy, EdD – hosted the booth to unveil the VCHC’s first set of specially designed case studies, accessible via laptop, to orient medical students […]
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28Jul, 2014
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ATSU-SOMA students introduced to Virtual Community Health Center

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July 14 was special day for the ATSU-School of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-SOMA) first-year students. Prior to the white coat ceremony held on that day, the ATSU-SOMA Class of 2018 was introduced to the Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC) concept, known as Envision CHC. Frederic Schwartz, DO, ’69, FACOFP, associate dean for clinical education and chair of family and community medicine, ATSU-SOMA, provided an overview of Envision CHC to the first-year students who will be engaged with patients and families from the VCHC. Tom Trompeter, CEO of HealthPoint Community Health Center […]
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7May, 2014
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Training medical students to serve the underserved

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Participants at the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association (AOMA) Convention in Phoenix, Ariz. collaborated in treating virtual patient Chris Williams, who presented to the Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC) after falling off his skateboard. The VCHC is part of a wider A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) initiative to test and implement a curriculum dedicated to teaching medical students to work with vulnerable patient populations with the goal that large numbers of trainees will select a career in primary care or in specialties needed to meet the […]
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29Apr, 2014
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ATSU-SOMA virtual community health center named

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A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-SOMA) has chosen a name for the Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC). The VCHC, now the A.T. Still University Envision Community Health Center, will be an important component of the education of students in interprofessional teamwork and medical decision-making. Student experiences in the Envision CHC will prepare them to provide care in ATSU-SOMA’s “real-world” community campuses. Envision CHC’s virtual population will present realistic, socially-complex life and medical problems for student teams to work on with virtual patients and families. The ATSU Envision CHC […]
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3Feb, 2014
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ATSU-SOMA VCHC project receives grant from General Electric for use of CentricityTM Electronic Medical Records

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With assistance from a $300,000 grant from the GE Foundation, A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) is piloting CentricityTM Electronic Medical Records (EMR) as part of each Virtual Community Health Center (VCHC) case study. During the first phase, 2014-16 EMR will be integrated into cases slated for first- and second-year medical students. According to Hammoud et al. (2012), EMR are frequently used in clinical healthcare settings, and it is incumbent upon medical schools to teach skills related to electronic record keeping. Integrating EMR into virtual cases […]
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