Salk Health Activist Fellows Highlight Medicaid’s Importance
Type: News
Focus Area: Workforce Development
This year's cohort included 24 professionals and multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate students, representing six academic institutions and 13 professional disciplines.
While broad national Medicaid changes have been proposed, their specific impact on Pennsylvanians remains unclear. To help the public understand how Medicaid supports residents across the Commonwealth, this fall’s Salk Health Activist Fellowship examined the program’s history, significance, and the diverse populations it serves. Fellows also developed new ways to communicate these insights to a variety of audiences.
Over nine weeks from September 10 through November 12, an interdisciplinary cohort of 24 professionals and multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate students, representing six academic institutions and 13 professional disciplines, dove deep into the history and value of Medicaid in Pennsylvania. came together, united by a shared passion for activism and ensuring access to care in our communities.
“The Salk Health Activist Fellowship is my first experience engaging with activism in a professional environment. The fellowship has helped me think more critically about the health-related issues that Pennsylvania faces and how I can use my future career in science to combat these inequities. I would highly recommend this fellowship to graduate students such as myself who are interested in a future in health activism,” said Ruvi Ranatunga, MS, a current participant in the University of Pittsburgh, Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program PhD program.
Fellows built advocacy briefs focused on specific populations impacted by Medicaid, including birthing people and reproductive health, children, immigrants, people with disabilities, people with substance use and mental health disorders, and older adults.
"I have been no stranger to the effects of policy and legislation. I have attended many statewide legislative days to advocate for topics including pharmacists' ability to vaccinate, our scope of practice, and prevent additional pharmacy closures. But what I realized when participating in the Salk Health Activist Fellowship is that my previous approach was more passive. I was unaware of the many ways to advocate for change and myriad strategies to make that advocacy effective and impactful,” said Kelsey Hake, PharmD, pharmacist senior program manager at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. “I am excited to utilize the skills and knowledge I now have, as a result of the Fellowship, to actively and consistently advocate for my patients, my community, and my profession. This Fellowship has made a lasting impression on my personal and professional trajectory."
A Fellowship group presents their research and policy suggestions.
Throughout the fellowship experience, participants heard leading voices in Medicaid policy, advocacy, media, community engagement, and government. The speakers included: Coley Alston, MPH of Hugh Lane Foundation; Akeiisa Coleman, MSW of The Commonwealth Fund; Donna Cooper, MPA of Children First; State Senator Jay Costa; Julie Donohue, PhD of University of Pittsburgh; Hilary Marcella of Allegheny County Department of Human Services; Erin Gabriel of Pennsylvania Health Access Network; State Representative Valerie Gaydos; Kate Giammarise of WESA; Erin Guay, MSA of the Pennsylvania Health Law Project; Chad Hermann, PhD, ABD of the Trusted Messenger Program; David Kelley, MD, MPA of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services; Rich Lord of Pittsburgh’s Public Source; State Senator Devlin Robinson; Alicia Schisler of Adagio Health; State Representative Arvind Venkat, and Tia Whitaker, CCHW of Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers. The community advisors included: Emily Neff of Trying Together; Sydney Etheredge, MPH of Reproductive Freedom Alliance; Laura Poskin, MPSG of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh; Lu Randell, MRC of Autism Connections of PA; Ivonne Smith-Tapia of Jewish Family and Community Services of Pittsburgh, and Nikki Weigand of NAMI Keystone.
