2025 OME Impact Stories
Hear how our community is creating unique programming to increase health and well-being in their communities. For more information about the impact of colleges of osteopathic medicine, check out our 2025 OME Impact Report!
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An Alumna’s Advice: Never Give Up on YourselfFebruary 02, 2026
Inspired by her grandmother's compassion and service to helping others, Brittany C. Eason, DO, MBS, pursued her medical education at Rowan-Virtua SOM with a mission to address mental health stigma and healthcare disparities within her New Jersey community.
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Connecting the Dots Between Service and HealthJanuary 26, 2026
Hrishi Paliath-Pathiyal, BS/DO candidate at KPCOM, has long been dedicated to serving underserved communities and deepened his commitment to osteopathic medicine through KPCOM’s AIM High and AIM Higher programs. Volunteering with Covenant House California shaped his perspective on health, emphasizing the interconnectedness of physical, mental and social factors. Now gaining competency to become a physician, he looks forward to prioritizing service, health and research to improve health.
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Championing Overdose Prevention and Community Care in California’s Central ValleyJanuary 20, 2026
CHSU-COM's Overdose Prevention Committee is working to reduce overdoses and support individuals with substance use disorders in California’s Central Valley. Hear from student leader Aicha Naouai, a third-year medical student, on how CHSU-COM's public-health focused interventions are enhancing student learning, supporting underserved communities and creating compassionate future physicians.
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Transforming Crisis Response Training at ICOMDecember 03, 2025
ICOM graduate Mohammad Abuakar, DO, used his background in emergency medicine to expand the impact of healthcare education in his community by shaping preparedness skills in future physicians and strengthening the ties between medical learners and local healthcare response systems.
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Neighbors in Action: KCU Students Bridge Health and HopeDecember 03, 2025
Caring for the health of the community is a neighborhood affair for students at Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM). As second-year students, Lejla and Mason helped form and implement a pilot program through the KCU Center for Population Health and Equity helping refugees navigate the U.S. health system as they settle into their new home.
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Building Healthier Communities Through Policy and CompassionDecember 03, 2025
Third-year NYITCOM-Arkansas student Jake Mickelberg shares his perspective as a nontraditional medical student with an interest in leveraging policy to address systemic barriers to health and shaping better health outcomes for his community.
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Driving Healthcare Forward: VCOM’s Mobile Medical Units in ActionDecember 03, 2025
OMS IV students, Hannah Elford, Savannah Collins and Holly Jarkzynka reflect on their experiences forging meaningful connections to underserved communities in rural areas, gaining clinical competencies and improving local health outcomes through the Mobile Medical Programs at VCOM-Carolinas and VCOM-Louisiana.
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Shaping Healthy Futures Through Preventive MedicineDecember 03, 2025
In Provo, Utah, Noorda-COM's preventive health program, Kaufusi's Keikis, is providing free, opt-in health screenings for elementary-aged children in Title I schools to improve health and well-being for underserved community members. Hear from second-year student Andrew ‘Drew’ Francis about how this unique public-private partnership is making health accessible and supports the training of compassionate, confident and culturally aware physicians.
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Mobile Medical Units VideoDecember 03, 2025
For some living in rural areas, VCOM’s mobile medical units offer the only accessible opportunity for healthcare. Hear how medical students at VCOM’s Carolinas and Louisiana campuses are bringing critical health services to those most in need and gaining valuable clinical skills in the process.
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Kaufusi’s Keikis VideoDecember 03, 2025
When schools, community leaders and future doctors unite, kids win! Noorda-COM’s preventive health program connects families in underserved communities with medical students for vital, opt-in preventive child health screenings through Kaufusi’s Keikis. Hear how this program is impacting the Provo community.