Introducing our five new national community partners!
Last year, we launched the PATIENTS Going National Initiative, which was about scaling the PATIENTS Program’s evidence-based approach for patient and community engagement beyond Baltimore. After a thoughtful process speaking with patients, community leaders, advisors, and research participants, we realized that going national wasn’t about geography, it is about communities.
These five new community partners are members of the cancer, mental health, disability, and reproductive health communities.
Please click on each partner's name below to watch a short introductory video about them. We look forward to working with each partner and their respective communities to co-develop patient-centered research proposals.
The Rathkopfs
Anna and Jordan Rathkopf are an extraordinary visual storytelling duo whose work in photography and film beautifully captures the lived experience of healthcare, caregiving, and family. Their journey began in 2016, inspired by their personal experience when Anna was diagnosed with breast cancer. Future research proposals will focus on cancer and other communities of interest.
Delayna Watkins, Women’s Wellness Lounge
Delayna Watkins is the founder and executive director of the Women’s Wellness Lounge, a visionary community space committed to transforming how women—especially women of color—experience health and wellness. As our partner, the Women's Wellness Lounge adds a powerful missing piece: access to resources, support, and national platforms that amplify community health voices. Future research proposals will focus on reproductive health.
Brian Gutierrez, Disability Voices United
Brian Gutierrez is a passionate advocate for Spina Bifida and colorectal cancer, a dedicated disability resource professional, and a graduate and seminar leader of the PATIENTS Professors Academy. Brian’s personal healthcare journey has shaped him into a powerful leader in health research, committed to amplifying the patient’s voice. Future research proposals will focus on communities with disabilities.
Seantae and Trevor Jackson, Blue Sandal Foundation
Seantae and Trevor Jackson are co-founders of the Sandal Blue Foundation. The Jacksons share their deeply personal story of survival, healing, and purpose after a devastating car accident that nearly took their lives and changed their family's path forever. What began as a tragedy has become a mission: to amplify patient voices, improve care, and make sure no one feels alone in their rehabilitation journey. Future research proposals will focus on trauma and mental health.
Sharon Rivera Sanchez, Trials of Color
Video coming soon.
Sharon Rivera Sanchez founded Trials of Color to bridge the gap between underserved cancer patients and their healthcare providers; and to encourage inclusive clinical trials and other cancer research. Future research proposals will focus on cancer.
Our National Impact
As we work with our new cohort of national community partners, we are building on our success in conducting patient-centered research and replicating the nationally renowned work the PATIENTS Program has conducted in West Baltimore in other cities and rural areas across the country.
Watch this short video from C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, executive director of the PATIENTS Program, as he tells us a little more about the PATIENTS Going National Initiative
We want to impact the health of patients and communities, which begs the question: What do we mean by a “community” and how do we intend to work with communities to impact patient and public health?
The PATIENTS Program uses the term "community" to refer to any way in which patients or individuals come together with something they have in common; recognizing that despite that common identity the community may – and typically will be – quite diverse. The PATIENTS Program views communities in this context not as passive recipients of interventions, but rather as active co-developers in the research process through continuous and sustained engagement.
The communities with whom the PATIENTS Program will continue to build partnerships are:
- Black American and African American
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular disease
- Community clinics, health systems, hospitals
- Disability
- Mental health
- Older adults/seniors
- Reproductive health
The communities were chosen based on their alignment with the PATIENTS Program's strategic plan, the reach and size of the community, and the likely impact on advancing health equity.
Click here to read more about how we view communities.
An initial LinkedIn post requested suggestions for priority communities for the PATIENTS Going National Initiative. Responses to that post provided more than 150 suggestions.
Based on input from that initial post, we then worked with patients, community leaders, advisors, our directors of research, and other partners who work closely with the PATIENTS Program to narrow our list to 16 potential priority communities.
All communities are important and deserve to have their voices heard. The PATIENTS Program would like to include voices when designing, conducting, and sharing the results of health equity research. Over time, the PATIENTS Program hopes to partner with every community interested in health equity and patient-centered research.
Thank you to our PATIENTS Going National Sponsors!
We are grateful for the support of our PATIENTS Going National sponsors - Bayer, AstraZeneca, and Novo Nordisk. Their support signifies their commitment to replicating our nationally renowned work to other cities and rural areas across the United States.
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