About Johns Hopkins Medicine

The Service Scholars program is part of SOURCE, the community engagement and service-learning center for The Johns Hopkins University’s schools of public health, nursing and medicine. The program trains Johns Hopkins students to work as project managers at community organizations. The goal is for students to learn how to move a project from start to finish.

Nineteen church leaders representing 12 Baltimore congregations participated recently in a five-week, 10-hour training. The training includes an overview of the signs and symptoms of depression, options for medical and psychological treatment, personal stories, theological reflections, effective listening strategies and self-care tips.

Through partnerships with Centro SOL and the Esperanza Center, a comprehensive Latino resource center, John Hopkins Medicine helps to promote health equity for Latinos in collaboration with faith and community organizations. Since June 2020, Johns Hopkins has run a coronavirus testing site at the Sacred Heart Church staffed by Spanish-speaking community health workers who register community members for testing and provide results over the phone to those who do not have internet access or who are undocumented.

When Suburban Hospital received the go-ahead from Maryland and Montgomery County officials that it could serve as a vaccine clinic site for the community, the team sprang into action. In less than 48 hours, the hospital had set up a full clinic to vaccinate as many as 400 people per day, with room for physical distancing and all safety protocols.

In anticipation of schools reopening in August of last year, Patterson Park Public Charter School formed a health and safety committee comprised of school staff members and parents, including Joann Hunsberger, assistant professor of pediatric anesthesia and pain medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “I was able to speak about what measures we were taking at the hospital to keep providers and patients safe, and help translate that into something we could use at school,” says Hunsberger.