bing pixel

Augsburg Nursing Faculty Focus on Infant Health Through MDH Grant

A woman holds a baby at Health Commons. Both are wearing winter hats and jackets.
Health Commons visitors

Augsburg University Assistant Professor of Nursing Katie Martin is the recipient of a $160,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Health to support infant health in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Martin is a certified midwife who has been providing care to expecting mothers in the area for over 20 years. Since beginning her academic tenure at Augsburg in 2021, she has become a coordinator at the Health Commons and the director of the BSN-completion program in addition to her teaching responsibilities.

“I have been honored to work at the Health Commons in Cedar Riverside over this past year and am so excited that this generous grant allows us to be able to expand the work we do,” Martin says. “We’ll restart programs that were happening pre-pandemic centered on maternal and infant health through community-led programming and community-based research.”

The funds from this grant will support new projects at the Health Commons in Cedar-Riverside, a health-focused drop-in center that is offered through a decade-long partnership between Augsburg, M Health Fairview, and the East Africa Health Project. Aligned with the grant program’s goal to reduce infant mortality in Minnesota, Martin and the Health Commons team are focused on three objectives: 

  1. Infants in the Cedar-Riverside community are born at term and at a healthy weight.
  2. Infants in the Cedar-Riverside community survive and thrive in their first year of life.
  3. East African Immigrants trust and feel safe with their health care providers in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.

This grant-funded work will be led by an Infant Health Advisory Committee organized by Martin. Much of the activities of the grant include offering infant health educational courses, distributing safe cribs, increasing safe sleep messaging and prenatal care, and hosting monthly birth celebrations at the Health Commons in Cedar-Riverside. Additionally, graduate students will be able to complete a paid internship through this grant and assist in a research project. This grant will also support ongoing programming and health services currently offered at the Health Commons, such as blood pressure checks and movement and mindfulness classes.

“This grant was extremely competitive and is a tribute to Dr. Martin’s expertise in infant health, health equity, and her relationships in Cedar-Riverside,” said Associate Professor Katie Clark, chair of Augsburg’s department of nursing and executive director of the Health Commons.  “Congratulations, Dr. Martin!”

Learn more about Augsburg’s Health Commons locations, range of services, and operating hours.

Auggie PA students share time and knowledge with seniors

augustana_paThey checked blood pressures. They talked nutrition and shared recipes. They even played Wii bowling.

No, these Augsburg physician assistant students were not messing around with the equipment or just taking a break from studying in the halls of Anderson. They were completing a unit on working with older adults by hosting a community health fair for residents of Augustana Apartments in downtown Minneapolis.

On this afternoon, second-year students in the last semester of the academic phase of their program worked in groups sharing information with residents about wellness, specific health problems of older adults, exercise, nutrition, socialization, and community resources. Continue reading “Auggie PA students share time and knowledge with seniors”

Urban Scrubs camp comes to Augsburg

urban_scrubsThroughout the summer, the Augsburg campus is filled with campers. Sports camps, debate camps, and film camps. This week’s camp—the first Urban Scrubs Camp—is a little different because of the long-term workforce development potential for our Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

Augsburg was one of the founding members of the Cedar-Riverside Partnership, a group made of the institutions in the neighborhood that are attempting to leverage their resources to make improvements to the area. Continue reading “Urban Scrubs camp comes to Augsburg”