Now she is creating a sponsorship program to assist area children with clothing and supplies once they can go back to school.

UofL News talked to Miceli about her efforts, the support she has received and what needs still exist in the flooded communities.

UofL News: How have you been able to help those affected by the July flooding?

Chelsea Miceli: My work has varied greatly from day to day. I have assisted in coordinating hot meals to remote communities. I have prepared meals and delivered them door to door. I have taken up donations and delivered them to homes throughout Knott, Breathitt and Perry Counties. I helped find individuals to sponsor a Perry County High School football player who lost all his sports equipment. I worked with national disaster relief food organizations to create hubs for food pickup for those that still do not have access to roadways. I connected the shelters to resources to get oxygen for those staying in the shelters. I assisted in finding a location for a birthday party for a young girl that lost everything. I assisted in connecting affected individuals with showering and laundry services. The Trager Institute and Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic staff and I worked to coordinate services for the Deaf and Blind community that is being sheltered at Hindman Settlement School.

UofL News: What makes the work personal for you? 

Miceli: As a resident of Whitley County who has family members across Eastern Kentucky, I understand the value of Appalachia and the history surrounding the culture which makes these individuals and their families so strong. When the recent flooding disaster hit in Eastern Kentucky, I knew I could not sit idly and watch those that I have an obligation to serve suffer alone.

When a disaster of this magnitude takes place, it is an immediate call to help your neighbor. Given my connection to this region and these communities, this work is very personal to me as I understand the geographic remoteness of this area of our state. These communities already face structural and systemic inequities such as generational poverty and trauma, oppression and a lack of resources in rural areas, and this disaster will only exacerbate these challenges.

These are my people, the people that I want to serve, the people that I feel could most benefit from additional services, the people that I know need advocacy and the people I know that are appreciative of the simplest act of kindness.  

Living and working in this region, I know that the communities of Eastern Kentucky are tough and resilient people, yet we all need help from time to time. I have delivered supplies and food to homes where people have said, ‘I hate to take it if someone else could use it more than us.’ The culture of wanting to work for what you have and always lending a helping hand is something that is instilled in our communities from birth.  

UofL News: What specific skills and experiences have helped you in this work?

Miceli: As a recent graduate from the Kent School and now a Trager Institute and Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic employee, my educational and professional background has instilled in me the value of taking action. During my time in the MSSW program and as an intern, I learned the importance of trauma-informed care and the long-term implications that you can have on someone’s life through acknowledging what they endured.

Throughout my time helping in Eastern Kentucky, my main goal has been to offer dignity and worth to individuals who have lost everything. Taking the time to stop and hear their stories and let them know that someone is there for them and is working with them is the best service anyone can offer.  

UofL News: How has your position at UofL and hat connection been helpful?

Miceli: As a program coordinator with the Trager Institute and Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic, I develop and facilitate services, provide education, training and supervision to our student interns and facilitate collaboration and services with partnering sites across Eastern Kentucky for our projects funded by Health Resources & Services Administration grants. One of the core missions of these projects is to provide workforce development and services to rural communities across the state.  

The team has been instrumental to my flood relief work. I have reached out numerous times needing assistance in identifying contacts and resources to provide services to these individuals. Without hesitation, they connected me to individuals and organizations that could assist with high priority needs of the communities including oxygen, hearing aids and sign language interpreters.

The staff has gone above and beyond to help me serve these individuals, most of whom they will never see nor meet. Without their help I don’t know if my work in Eastern Kentucky would have been as fruitful.

Our partner sites across Eastern Kentucky have faced many challenges during this time as well, primarily Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation. However, any time I picked up the phone and explained a need they were quick to act and put me in contact with individuals and resources to resolve the issue.  

UofL News: Tell us about your project to gather supplies for students as they go back to school.

Miceli: I am working to create an ‘Adopt-a-Student’ sponsorship program. We will ask sponsors to purchase a backpack, clothing essentials (e.g., socks, shoes, underwear and two outfits), along with basic school supplies to be distributed to students in Knott County when they are able to return to school. With so much uncertainty surrounding when school will begin, this gives us time to begin gathering items in hopes that as students return, they will not have to worry about having school clothes and supplies. Given the financial hardship the parents are already facing, between clean-up costs and restarting their lives, the goal is to relieve some of the burden on them as well. This program’s goal is to let the students and parents start this school year without additional stressors during this trying and difficult time.

An has been created for school supplies for the students. To contribute to the Adopt-a-Student program, contact Miceli.

“P���ܲ�” leverages the unique academic and community-based health services to expanded care, including occupational medicine, Department of Transportation physicals and drug testing.

“The location is new, but the neighbors here are familiar faces,” said Tom Miller, CEO of UofL Health. “Over the last six years, UofL Health has taken care of more residents in west Louisville than any other hospital system, combined. We also have nearly 700 of our own employees, and their families, living in this area. This Urgent Care Plus benefits this Medically Underserved Area and brings the Power of U closer to their homes.”

In January, UofL Health kicked off a major expansion of its Urgent Care Plus, announcing plans to open five locations to increase access to affordable care and convenient hours across the community. The west Louisville site will be the fifth to open, following a $500,000 renovations and equipment investment.

“Accessible health care is an essential element of a healthy community,” said Neeli Bendapudi, UofL President and chair of UofL Health board of directors. “By expanding into west Louisville, UofL Health is living its commitment to better serve our entire community.”

Dr. Tamea Evans, UofL Physicians – Primary Care Associates, will lead the medical team at the new location.

“Taking care of patients is my profession, but breaking down barriers to improve health equity is my passion,” Evans said. “The location, and hours, of this Urgent Care Plus practice is essential to making quality care easy to access.”

Dr. Evans will be joined by Dr. Jamaal Richie, UofL Family Medicine Resident, who grew up two blocks from Virginia Avenue.

“I am excited about this opportunity to serve, and I am even more excited for those we will serve. Better access to care will save lives and change lives for generations to come,” Richie said. 

The west Louisville’s Urgent Care Plus will also include a dedicated telemedicine suite where patients can access UofL Health specialty care services such as neurology, psychiatry, and cardiology. A grand opening date is still being determined, but it is expected to open in early July.

UofL Health – Urgent Care Plus locations:

• Cedar Grove – 1707 Cedar Grove Road, Suite 10, Shepherdsville, KY 40165
• Dupont/St. Matthews – 908 Dupont Road, Louisville, KY 40207
• Hurstbourne – 9409 Shelbyville Rd, Louisville, KY 40222 (opening in April)
• Medical Center Northeast – 2401 Terra Crossing Blvd, Louisville, KY 40245

These are projects kids age 5-11 can do – with a little help from an adult – while learning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts through a video series by students in the at the University of Louisville. Episodes are designed to introduce basic STEM concepts and engineering disciplines to young students through hands-on activities using materials usually found around the house.

Students on the Outreach Team at Speed School of Engineering created the videos to ignite a love of science in elementary-age students through fun, educational activities. The step-by-step projects show how to extract strawberry DNA, make homemade lava lamps and create home-made gak and others. The students also discuss the STEM concepts experienced in the activities, such as density, polymers and buoyancy.

“Traditionally, our team makes weekly visits to our three partnership schools [Central High School, Nativity Academy and West End School], hosts field trips on campus, and participates in a variety of events during the semester, but the Fall 2020 semester and now Spring 2021 semester needed to look different for everyone’s safety,” said Annie Fitzpatrick Jones, outreach team coordinator for Speed School of Engineering. “We knew that families might be stuck at home looking for different ways to engage with one another and thought this series might help.”

Most of the videos are about 4 minutes long and require some adult supervision with materials.

Engineering Starts at Home videos are available on the school’s .

His mom, Mary Beth Norton, that Allen has talked about the opportunity “for weeks.”

“The diagnosis doesn’t put a cap on what is possible, and that’s what’s exciting for us,” . “This is Allen getting to show who he really is.” 

Allen is also predicting a UofL upset over the defending national champions. 

Kickoff is at noon at Cardinal Stadium. 

That is not necessarily the case.

At the next Beer with a Scientist, Robert Bates, a water expert and nearly 30-year employee at Louisville Metro Sewer District, will explain that, while it is plentiful here in Kentucky, water still is a precious commodity and recycling it makes sense. He will discuss water recycling in the United States, the “Louisville water cycle” and how some local organizations are recycling water to make beer.

Now an operations specialist with GRW, an engineering consulting firm based in Lexington, Bates was in operations management for more than 10 years at MSD’s Morris Forman Water Quality Treatment Center, the largest wastewater treatment facility in Kentucky. He also is a past president of the Water Environment Association of Kentucky/Tennessee (WEAKT) and has co-authored several peer-reviewed scientific publications on wastewater.

“There is no new water, so the more we can do to protect this most vital resource, the better,” Bates said. “Plus, no water, no beer.”

His talk begins at an earlier time, 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at a new location, Holsopple Brewing, 8023 Catherine Lane, Louisville. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.

“Some of these kids are three or four, so if we intervene at this level we will be able to save their vision. Otherwise they would have gotten picked up in their teenage years or adulthood, and at that point we can’t do anything,” said Aparna Ramasubramanian, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology.

Of the children screened, 73 were recommended for more comprehensive eye exams. The physicians are following up with their families to ensure they get the needed exams.

More than 20 medical residents, faculty members and medical students helped with the screenings.

“We have such an enthusiastic group of residents that are dedicated to community service. That’s why we are here to help out the community and help the kids in need,” said Sidharth Puri, MD, an ophthalmology resident at UofL.

The event also served as a learning opportunity for the medical residents.

“It’s trying to pick up when they need to do a full exam and when not, which they can’t learn in a clinic,” said Ramasubramanian. “It’s very important for the residents to learn that.”

See a video from the event below. 

Hepatitis C, a blood-borne illness, is prevalent in the Louisville area and throughout the state. Currently, providers are encouraged to test for hepatitis C only in patients with certain risk factors or who are a part of the Baby Boom generation (born 1946-1964). 

“A growing body of evidence suggests age and risk-based screening is missing a significant number of people, including children, with hepatitis C infection. Universal hepatitis C screening will be a future standard of care,” said , a family nurse practitioner specializing in gastroenterology and hepatology who leads the Hep C Center at UofL Hospital. Cave is helping to organize the event.

Kentucky has one of the highest hepatitis C infection rates in the country – seven times the national average. “Up to half of patients who have it may not know they are infected, and people may carry the disease for decades before they have symptoms,” Cave said.

While in the past certain groups were known to be at risk, Cave said a recent spike in hepatitis C cases among those who have no or unrecognized risk factors has prompted health officials to consider screening all adults. This spring, the state of Kentucky passed a law requiring all pregnant women to be tested for hepatitis C, as the disease can be passed from mother to baby. The law went into effect July 1. Kentucky is the first state in the nation to require universal hepatitis C screening in pregnant women.

“The goal of the World Hepatitis Day screening event is to expand testing and awareness, link more people to curative treatment, and normalize the conversation about hepatitis C,” said Cave. “There should be no stigma surrounding hepatitis C. Anyone could have it, including babies.”

Screenings will be offered from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. Screening is done with a simple finger prick, similar to checking a blood sugar, and results will be available on site in 20 minutes. Hepatitis C experts will be available at all sites to answer questions, and help link those affected by hepatitis C to appropriate care.

This is the second year UofL Hospital and community partners are offering the free screenings on World Hepatitis Day. Screening sites, staffed by more than 130 health care volunteers, will be set up in Louisville and Jefferson County, along with sites in Oldham, Shelby and Bullitt counties and Clark County, Indiana. Last year, 488 people were tested. Cave said she hopes to double that number this year.

There are some known risk factors for hepatitis C:

• Born between 1945 and 1965. The recommends screening for all baby boomers.
• A blood transfusion or organ transplant prior to 1992
• Had blood filtered by a machine (hemodialysis) for a long period of time because kidneys were not working
• IV drug use at any point in life, even if just once
• Intranasal drug use at any point in life
• HIV or hepatitis B infection
• Healthcare workers exposed to blood through a needle stick or other contact with blood or bodily fluids
• Exposure to contaminated tattoo equipment, including ink
• Men who have sex with other men
• Prior military service. “Older veterans are particularly at risk due to the use of the old ‘jet gun’ vaccinators by the military, and from combat injuries requiring blood transfusion,” Cave said.

Contaminated dental equipment, such as that used before most items were single patient/single use, may have also spread hepatitis C, and Cave said the virus can live on a surface for six weeks if not sterilized properly.

But there are many cases of hepatitis C that are not tied to any risk factors, Cave said.
Left untreated, the disease can cause major complications. It can cause cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, and is a leading cause of liver transplant. Hepatitis C may also predispose those infected to diabetes and depression, and has an association with joint pain, certain skin disorders and lymphoma.

World Hepatitis Day is marked across the globe on July 28 every year. The purpose is to increase awareness of viral hepatitis, including hepatitis A, B and C. “We have a local goal to decrease the stigma about hepatitis C, and let people know it is easy to test for and treat,” said Cave.

“Some may still remember the old days of treating hep C when treatment was difficult,” Cave said. “It involved a triple therapy with interferon that lasted almost a year, with multiple side effects. Not everyone was a candidate for treatment, and some patients opted to not get treated at all.

“Today, hepatitis C is easily curable and relatively inexpensive to treat. Treatment is one pill, once a day, for 8-12 weeks – with minimal side effects. It is covered by almost all insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid. Cost and side effects are no longer an excuse to defer treatment.”

Partners with UofL Hospital in the screening event include the Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness, the Kentucky Department of Public Health, KentuckyOne Health, Volunteers of America, the Sullivan University College of Pharmacy, the nursing programs of Galen University and Bellarmine University, and University of Louisville Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Public Health.

Free hep C testing sites on July 28

• St. Matthews Mall (2 sites within the mall), 5000 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, 40207
• Walgreens, 3980 Dixie Highway, Louisville, 40216
• Walmart, 10445 Dixie Highway, Louisville, 40272
• Walmart, 500 Taylorsville Road, Shelbyville, 40065
• Walgreens, 152 N. Buckman St., Shepherdsville, 40165
• Walgreens, 4310 Outer Loop, Okolona, 40219
• Wayside Christian Mission, 432 East Jefferson St., Louisville, 40202
• CVS Pharmacy, 1002 Spring St., Jeffersonville, IN 47130
• CVS Pharmacy, 1950 State St., New Albany, IN 47150
• Kroger, 10645 Dixie Highway, Louisville, 40272
• Walmart, 7100 Raggard Road, Louisville, 40216
• Southwest Family YMCA, 2800 Fordhaven Road, Louisville, 40214
• Oldham County Family YMCA, 20 Quality Place, Buckner, 40010
• Kroger, 2710 W. Broadway, Louisville, 40211
• CVS Pharmacy, 3229 Poplar Level Road, Louisville, 40213
• Walmart, 11901 Standiford Plaza Drive, Louisville, 40229
• St. Stephen Church, 1018 S. 15th St., Louisville, 40210
• Churchill Downs, Backside

For their work, the Louisville group was named the 2017 chapter of the year by the  earlier this month at the organization’s annual meeting in Washington, DC.

The Society for Neuroscience is an organization of nearly 38,000 basic scientists and clinicians in more than 90 countries who study the brain and nervous system. The Louisville SfN chapter includes nearly 300 members, about 280 of whom are faculty, staff and students at the University of Louisville. Members also represent Bellarmine University, Morehead State University and Northern Kentucky University.

The SfN presents its Chapter-of-the-Year Award in recognition of a chapter’s accomplishments in outreach to the public, providing neuroscience resources for K-12 education and advocacy for issues related to research and science.

The Louisville chapter organized or participated in more than 30 events between June 2016 and July 2017 related to this mission. Members hosted 25 minority high school students interested in health professions for a tour at UofL, held a seminar to encourage middle school girls’ interest in STEM-related careers, developed “Brain Days: An Interactive Neuroscience Experience” at the Kentucky Science Center, and helped organize the local March for Science in Louisville. The club estimates that through these and other events, 171 volunteers helped educate more than 5,000 people about the field of neuroscience.

In addition to the chapter award, the group’s outgoing president, Kristofer K. Rau, PhD, earned the organization’s for junior faculty for his efforts to share neuroscience with the public through communication, education and outreach activities. Rau, a senior research associate in the UofL Department of Anesthesiology, spearheaded community outreach efforts for SfN’s Louisville chapter designed to increase science education and literacy focused on nervous system function and careers in neuroscience research. Rau helped to establish adult education programs, initiated neuroscience awards at regional science fairs, and prepared materials and mobilized volunteers for a walk to end multiple sclerosis.

The Louisville SfN chapter will receive $3,000 for the two awards.

“Because service is such a big part of Brandeis (School of Law), it’s a great way we can serve the community. I’m new to Louisville so this is a way for us to get connected to the city,” said Elizabeth Mosley, a first-year law student. 

Each year, UofL students donate more than a half million hours of community service to the university’s non-profit partners. 

“They are good, good people. They’re going to make a difference in their communities. They’re going to be the civic leaders we want to educate,” said Brandeis Dean Susan Duncan. 

Watch the students in action below: 

Health care professionals and faculty members from the School of Medicine and College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development talked with the students, from 12 to 17 years old, about the paths they took to careers as an athletic trainer, physical therapist, physician, teacher and exercise physiologist. In addition, they offered tips on recovering from sports injuries and healthy eating and activity. The visit was organized to introduce the students to opportunities for careers in health care.

is a year-round mentoring program that targets students who have had academic and behavioral challenges in and out of the classroom. The program helps young men and women get in position to further their education beyond high school by boosting academic and personal achievement, sports achievement and parental and family involvement. The summer program is a two-week-long extension of that effort based at the Shawnee Arts and Cultural Community Center.

Brittney Richardson, MD, a sports medicine fellow and board certified family physician at UofL and KentuckyOne Health, told the students about her journey to becoming a physician, a path she navigated despite the fact that no one in her family had been a health care professional.

“I want to show them that there are opportunities out there for them to succeed,” Richardson said. “I was connected along my way with the right people, but that doesn’t happen all the time. I can be that person for them to be connected with and I don’t think I have reached my goal until I have helped someone get to where I am.”

One of the students, Daihjae Tandy, said she was interested in the information about nutrition and concussions and definitely is planning to go to college. Although the high school junior is interested in art, she said she would consider a career in health care after hearing the presentation.

“I think it would be great. I even thought about it after hearing everything they do. It’s actually very wonderful for anybody,” Tandy said.

Margaret Dunbar-Demaree, founder and director of 1+1=U, began mentoring troubled students as a teacher at Central High School. Now retired from her teaching position, Demaree mentors and tutors students at the Shawnee Arts & Cultural Community Center and Bethel Baptist Church.

This is the third year the 1+1=U Summer Youth Enrichment Program students have visited the UofL HSC Campus. For more photos from the visit, .