Fellowship Offers Firsthand Exposure to Public Health
By Stephanie Mirkin
Program Manager, Princeton Project 55
November 6, 2007
Like many Princeton Project 55 fellows, Ruby Greywoode ’07 graduated from Princeton and immediately jumped into her Public Health Fellowship at Norwalk Community Health Center. From the very beginning, she was inundated with the daily tasks and responsibilities of operating the health center, which provides high quality, comprehensive primary health care to the uninsured and underinsured residents of Norwalk, Connecticut and the surrounding towns.
After only four months into her fellowship, Ruby has already “learned and experienced a great deal” through her interactions with patients, doctors, and other community members. Thus far the position has allowed her the opportunity to work on numerous projects and experience many different aspects of the clinic.
Ruby has helped to organize community outreach programs to raise health awareness, to assist the nurses with basic clinical tasks, and to compile reports on clinical outcomes for the Department of Health. Working in the clinic also enables her intellectual growth in medicine by encouraging her to observe patient visits and attend lectures with the residents.
Ruby said these unique opportunities have given her, “a much better sense of how the clinic operates and some places in need of improvement.” With Ruby’s career aspirations in medicine, the chance to work in the clinical environment and get hands-on experience in health care will prove incredibly valuable to her future.
Lawrence Cross, Executive Director of Norwalk Community Health Center, comments that, "having this kind of brain power for nominal money enables cash-poor health centers to undertake projects that would otherwise be out of reach." In fact, although the clinic is already involved in many programs on-site and in the community, it is looking to expand and enrich its services, which should make for an exciting fellowship year for Ruby and an exciting future in Norwalk.