McConnell Scholars Serve Backside Workers
By Kara Beth Poe
Louisville, Ky. (September 13, 2024)
On September 08, 2024, the McConnell Scholars engaged in a service project in collaboration with The Kentucky Racing Health Services Center. This initiative is funded primarily by a generous grant from the Humana Foundation. The project allowed scholars to engage with the backside workers of Churchill Downs.
"I am proud of the service our McConnell Scholars render to our neighbors and community," said Gary L. Gregg, Director of the McConnell Center.
McConnell Scholar Greta Noble (25') inspired the project and worked with the McConnell Center and the clinic to make it happen.
"I am excited and hopeful to see this program grow as more patients learn about this opportunity," said Greta Noble. "I am passionate about this program and would love to see it continue after I graduate because this allows our scholars to step into a community they likely would not otherwise be able to interact with."
The backside workers are primarily Spanish-speaking immigrants from Central and South America, and due to their profession, they live a nomadic lifestyle to provide for their families. The scholars administered the Gardasil-9 Vaccination to female patients as part of the project. The Gardasil-9 vaccination protects patients from 9 strains of the Human Papillomavirus and prevents the progression of HPV to Cervical Cancer. Hispanic women are 40% more likely than white women to develop cervical cancer from HPV, yet not one of the patients of KRHSC has received the HPV vaccination.
In this partnership, the scholars learned about the policies that create barriers to immigrant patient care and the necessity of the HPV vaccine. They were also trained to administer vaccines. Working in collaboration with the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center has created this ongoing opportunity for McConnell Scholars to serve the community and learn about healthcare in a new way.