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Mission Statement 

Our mission is to improve the post-hospital quality of life for the underserved patients of Ben Taub Hospital through the improvement of medication adherence, the improvement of follow-up appointment attendance, the distribution of medical/social/financial services, and the betterment of patient agency to utilize these services.

 

Description

The Patient Discharge Initiative is a group of ~90 Rice University and University of Houston undergraduates that aims to understand and address health disparities in Harris County. While volunteering at Ben Taub Hospital, we support patients by helping them navigate our healthcare system. Our patients often identify as low-income, uninsured, or non-English speaking; moreover, as the largest county hospital in Houston, over 100,000 patients treated per year in the emergency center alone. We strive to connect our patients to medical and social community resources and improve their post-discharge quality of life. To supplement our work at the hospital, we have eight committees pursuing diverse projects, such as researching the impact of our initiative on patient health outcomes, connecting with community organizations to better understand their services and foster warm referrals, and developing and updating the resources we provide to patients. We are constantly working with our physician mentors from the Baylor College of Medicine and administrators in the Population Health Department to improve our services and would love to have you join us in our mission to address social determinants of health and improve health equity in Houston. 

Please check out our feature on the Baylor College of Medicine blog!

[:de]About BCM-PDI

Baylor College of Medicine – Patient Discharge Initiative, or BCM-PDI for short, is a joint organization between Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine that aims to help the underserved patient population. Members volunteer at the emergency center of Ben Taub Hospital, which is Baylor’s affiliate hospital. Many of the patients at Ben Taub Hospital come from underprivileged backgrounds with limited access to social benefits and insurance. We provide patients important social services as they are being discharged from the hospital. Once training sessions have been completed, each volunteer assists patients for 2.5 hours per week under the guidance of one of our shift leaders.

Program Goals

  • Increase patient access to healthcare resources and other social support services
  • Increase medication adherence
  • Ensure follow-up appointment attendance
  • Check-in with patients to ensure they received proper care and services
  • Increase overall patient enrichment and education

About Ben Taub Hospital

  • Largest County hospital in Houston
  • Over 100,000 patients treated per year in the emergency center alone
  • Many underserved and Spanish-speaking patients

Benefits of becoming a BCM-PDI member

  • Gain clinical volunteer experience by directly speaking with patients, physicians, and nurses
  • Gain experience working with underserved and diverse populations
  • Learn about heath insurance, health policy, and various social service programs
  • Join a tightly knit group of students passionate about healthcare

Perspectives from PDI members

“The most important skill I have gained from PDI has been communication when speaking with patients from diverse and varied populations. I have also gained huge satisfaction from seeing the positive results of our club’s work to provide relief to financially struggling families.”

“BCM-PDI is a unique club because it gives our members the best experiences to foster their interest in medicine. Furthermore, every member of BCM-PDI is passionate about the human-side of healthcare and driven to finding the best options for patients who are facing difficult circumstances. It is also a great feeling to make close friendships in the club with those who share your same enthusiasm for helping others.”

Interested in joining BCM-PDI?

Complete the Fall 2017 Application available on the How to Apply page by September 4th ; 11:59PM. Submit your completed application and any questions to bcm.pdi@gmail.com.[:]