When they walk into the room, many of their patients wrestle with two emotions – disbelief and delight. But joy wins out. 

“Many of our patients have not had a dedicated healthcare provider whom they can also identify with,” said Myjal Garner, DNP, FNP, at the SIUE School of Nursing’s (SON) WE CARE Clinic in East St. Louis. “They are ecstatic to see someone who looks like them.” 

“Our patients thank us, because they feel seen and heard and are getting quality healthcare services,” said Tierra Smith, MSN, FNP at the WE CARE Clinic. 

Garner and Smith, natives of East St. Louis, are family nurse practitioners at the Clinic. Garner came in January and Smith started in May. 

“I am so proud and excited to have family nurse practitioners of their high caliber working at the WE CARE Clinic,” said Jerrica Ampadu, PhD, RN, CCP, associate professor in the SON and director of the Clinic. 

“I enjoy caring for people,” said Garner. She earned a bachelor’s in nursing from SIUE in 2011 and a doctorate from Maryville University in 2021. Garner is the course leader for the SIUE class, “Community Health Nursing,” and teaches SIUE senior level nursing clinical students.

“I want to see that everyone has access to quality healthcare. When I was younger, I could recognize the disparities in healthcare. Many of my family members didn’t seek primary healthcare, because they didn’t trust the providers. They often felt like they were not being taken seriously.” 

As a nurse practitioner, Garner says her goal is to get to know her patients to better treat them. “I look at each patient as an individual,” she said. “What works for one person may not work for others, and you won’t know what works if you don’t talk to your patients and get to know them.” 

As a child, Smith aided in the care of her grandmother, who had lung cancer.  “I always knew I wanted to be a nurse,” she explained. “I wanted to help people. We cared for my grandmother at home, and I would help.” 

“I love being here, because the community needs to see a face they know, a face that looks like theirs and someone who can identify with them,” said Smith, who works full time at the Clinic. 

Patients are seen from the ages of two and up, and the Clinic is open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. “We assess, diagnose and treat patients,” noted Smith. “I recently saw a patient whose blood sugar was in the 300s. After three weeks, it was down to approximately 150.” 

“We provide holistic care to our patients,” added Garner. “We treat varying conditions. What we cannot treat, we refer them to those who can. We ensure patients have an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals to take care of them.” 

Smith had a 30-year-old patient who had never had an eye exam. “I referred her to the UMSL Optometry Clinic, located next to our office.” 

Many in underserved communities do not seek out healthcare because of their lack of resources and insurance, the nurses say. 

“We provide exceptional care to all patients regardless of their income, race, work status, and whether or not they have insurance," said Garner. "This is a judgement-free zone. We take pride in taking care of our patients.” 

The Clinic accepts uninsured patients using a sliding scale fee. Payments can range from $5-$25, according to Smith. 

“We have a social worker who will help them apply for state insurance,” added Smith. “We also tell our patients about how they can get discount prescriptions.” 

“We utilize the $4 medication list at local pharmacies that most people are unaware of,” added Garner. “Pharmacies have a discount medication list that includes many medications. Discounted medications vary by pharmacy." 

The nurse practitioners noted other services that the Clinic provides:

• An asthma program, where clinicians go out to provide asthma education as well as assess for asthma triggers. When triggers are identified, they provide supplies to assist clients in minimizing those triggers. They provide asthma supplies such as spacers, high-efficiency filters, vacuums and pest management.  

• A mobile clinic that brings healthcare services and clinicians to patients in the East St. Louis area. The service is in its infancy and is expected to be fully operational in the next several months. 

• Virtual translation services that provide a live interpreter. The service offers interpreters for 45 languages, including a deaf translator. 

“I give my very best for my patients,” said Garner. “I am able to make a pivotal difference in the lives of underrepresented and underserved individuals.” 

“Being here is my way of giving back to the community,” said Smith. “You have to be someone who cares when you’re serving underrepresented and underserved individuals. We want the word to get out more and more that we are here and that WE CARE!”

The WE CARE Clinic provides primary patient care at 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in Building D. Our staff includes four advanced Nurse Practitioners, a collaborating physician, a licensed clinical social worker, certified health coaches and a doctorally prepared pharmacist. All of our providers provide comprehensive services to our diverse clients who reside in the Metro East and surrounding communities.    

Photo:
WE CARE Clinic Family Nurse Practitioners (L-R) Tierra Smith, MSN, FNP and Myjal Garner, DNP, FNP.

A nurse. A professor. An administrator. A diversity champion. These descriptors define the engaging, multi-faceted and impressive career of SIUE’s Jerrica Ampadu, PhD, RN, CCP, associate professor in the SIUE School of Nursing (SON) and director of the SIUE WE CARE Clinic in East St. Louis.

“As a nurse and scholar, I have the best of both worlds. I get to teach students and directly impact the healthcare of my community,” said Ampadu, a native of East St. Louis.  

Ampadu’s involvement with SIUE goes back further than her more than 20-year-career at the University. She earned a bachelor’s in 1997 and a master’s in 2002, both in nursing from SIUE.

“I jokingly say I have been at SIUE my entire life,” she said.

Ampadu began working at SIUE in 2002 as a part-time lecturer, teaching clinical courses. She became a full-time instructor in 2006 and was promoted to an associate professor in 2021.

“As an associate professor, my teaching, my scholarship and service focus on health equity, specifically workforce diversity and access to care,” noted Ampadu.

“I teach across the curriculum to undergraduate and graduate nursing students. I teach First Semester Transition course to incoming students for the Summer Success Program. I mentor doctoral students on their final projects. I recently created a paid internship designed to provide undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities during the summer.”

Ampadu also directs the Student Nurse Achievement Program, which is designed to support underrepresented students in nursing by addressing the social determinates of education. “As a faculty member, I have acquired and managed more than $2.1 million in grant funding to support underrepresented students,” she explained.

Ampadu serves on numerous committees within the SON and the University. She also operates as the co-chair of the Leadership Succession Committee of the Diversity Equity Inclusion Leadership Network (DEILN) for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) the Voice of Academic Nursing. In June, Ampadu received a diversity certification by completing the AACN's Diversity Leadership Institute.

Ampadu took up the reigns as director of the WE CARE Clinic, a primary care clinic on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus, in August 2019. “The mission of the Clinic is to advance health equity by increasing access to healthcare to East St. Louis and surrounding communities (underserved communities) and to prepare health professional students,” informed Ampadu.

As director, Ampadu oversees all Clinic functions and actively seeks opportunities to support it.

“Currently, I am building a mobile health unit which will serve as another access point to the community,” she offered. “In addition to building a mobile health unit, I work with an interprofessional team (nursing, pharmacy, nutrition and public health) to ensure clients receive culturally competent care.”

Ampadu also manages an asthma program that provides asthma education and home visits, free of charge, to residents of St. Clair and Madison counties. She has acquired and managed more than $7 million in private, state and federal funds for the programs at the Clinic.

“The We Care Clinic plays a critical role in addressing health inequities in East St. Louis and surrounding communities,” said Ampadu. “Our interprofessional team is dedicated to addressing the chronic illnesses that are caused and exacerbated by environmental conditions that our residents have no control over. We are also educating and preparing nursing, public health, and nutrition students to address the social determinates of health and to become change agents for social justice. Patient-provider concordance is essential in advancing health equity in our community.”

The WE CARE Clinic provides primary patient care at 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in Building D. Our staff includes four advanced Nurse Practitioners, a collaborating physician, a clinical social worker, certified health coaches, nursing faculty, and a doctorally prepared pharmacist. All of our providers provide comprehensive services to our diverse clients who reside in the Metro East and surrounding communities.

Photo:
Jerrica Ampadu, PhD, RN, CCP, associate professor in the SON and director of the SIUE WE CARE Clinic

The Learning Resource Center (LRC): 

• September is Library Card Sign Up Month! Stop by the LRC in September to sign up for a library card, and you’ll be entered to win an LRC goodie bag.

• Thursdays in September, we’ll be hosting a Youth-Life Skills Program presented by Celess Helping Hands. The program is for 16-18 year-olds and will be held September 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 3:15-4:30 at the LRC.

• Wednesday, Sept. 13 - Spanish Bilingual Storytime on our Facebook page (posts at 10 a.m.).

• Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 12-1 p.m. - Let’s Create: Shadow Boxes. Space is limited. Contact the LRC to sign up.

• Wednesday, Sept. 27 - Spanish Bilingual Storytime on our Facebook page (posts at 10 a.m.).

• Friday, Sept. 29 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. - LRC Book Club. For September we are reading "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens.

Employee Wellness Fair

• Employee Wellness Fair
  11 a.m.-2 p.m.
  Tuesday, Sept. 19
  Morris University Center Meridian Ballroom
  
  The Office of Human Resources invites faculty, staff and student workers to the Employee Wellness Fair. The fair will give SIUE employees the opportunity to meet community businesses, participate in health screenings, continue education about healthy eating and exercise habits, and hear about new and existing benefits offered by SIUE departments to employees.

SIU Board of Trustees Meeting on the East St. Louis Campus

• 10 a.m.
  Thursday, Sept. 21
  Multipurpose Room, Building D
  Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus

Don’t Fall for Phishing Scams

• You may have seen a few emails soliciting part-time work as a secretary, dog-walker, intern or even a research assistant right here at SIUE. Unsolicited job offers via email are always fake and an attempt by criminals to get your personal information, no matter where or from whom they seem to originate. The scams usually offer a few days’ work per week for around $300 - $500, which makes them easy to spot.
  
  Delete these emails or forward them to phishing@siue.edu and then delete.
  For more clues into how to spot fake emails check out SIUE’s phishing training at Understanding Phishing Scams.

Deaf Awareness Ally Training

• ACCESS encourages faculty and staff to attend a training session to learn about Deaf/Hard of Hearing people, culture, communication preferences, technologies and history. The Deaf Awareness Ally Training develops a better understanding of services offered to D/HoH students and how to best support them during their time at SIUE.
  
  Lovejoy Library 3021
  10 a.m.-12 p.m.
  Friday, Sept. 29
  Register for the class here

Homecoming and Family Weekend

• Cougar State of Mind:
  SIUE Homecoming & Family Weekend
  October 11-15

Mark your calendars for October 11-15 and get ready for a homecoming and family weekend experience that is uniquely SIUE and will be sure to put you in a SIUE Cougar State of Mind!

It’s 2023 Homecoming & Family Weekend — SIUE style! Homecoming and Family Weekend offers a full slate of events celebrating all things SIUE. The weekend is designed for our alumni, friends, faculty, staff and community members, as well as our current students and their families. Whether building your first relationships with the SIUE community or reconnecting with longtime friends, this is sure to be a week you won’t want to miss! Highlights include the annual chili cook-off, chalk mural contest, Homecoming bonfire, COUGARFEST Block Party, Cougars Unleashed Homecoming Run and Pancake Breakfast, Eddie-Palooza, Cougar Fan Zone, SIUE Homecoming soccer game, and more! If you have any questions, please contact celebration@siue.edu or visit siue.edu/homecoming-family-weekend.

Ex-Military Personnel Load Up on Information at SIUE Veterans Upward Bound’s Resource Fair
The 6-foot, 3-inch Army veteran works the room with grace, style and ease. He’s both networking with agencies and helping his friend find resources and opportunities.

Vincent Strode and Johnnie Crook, both of East St. Louis, were two of many who attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) Resource Fair on Thursday, Aug. 24 in Building B on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus (WHYHEC).

SIUE’s Veterans Upward Bound Program Hosts Area Veteran Groups
Helping veterans find employment, educational opportunities, housing and counseling services were just some of the things discussed at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) Open House on Wednesday, Aug.16. 

Representatives from more than 10 agencies and organizations in the St. Louis and Metro East area met to talk and network on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus (WHYHEC). 

SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School Give Students Red Carpet Treatment on their First Day
LaVont Suggs was nervous when he was in the car, but once the high school sophomore walked inside of the building, and saw and felt all the excitement, his anxious feelings gave way to good ones. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) enthusiastically welcomed scholars back to the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 14 with its annual “Red Carpet Day” that included fanfare, introductions and orientations. 

SIUE East St. Louis Center Offers STEM Program to Middle Schoolers
The week was full of dissecting frogs, making “elephant toothpaste,” operating drones and more, and the students couldn’t have been happier. Eight eager learners participated in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s (ESLC) inaugural Middle School Scholars STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Program from Monday-Friday, July 24-28. 

“We were pleased to offer middle school students an introduction to STEM curriculum,” said ESLC Executive Director Timothy Staples, EdD, who created and coordinated the weeklong program.  “We want to help whet their appetite for STEM, and to encourage them to take advantage of our high school STEM programming.