The leadership team at the University of Louisville Trager Institute is deeply concerned by the violence brought upon Black communities across the country. For too long we have tolerated these injustices in our own community. Because many of us have not experienced these injustices in our own lives, we have not been a strong enough voice against police brutality, institutional racism, marginalized communities, and health disparities. We are angered and saddened that these communities have been failed for years by the institutions in our society who should protect them. We grieve for the lives stolen by this neglect and domination.

What is Project ECHO?

Among the many challenges Kentuckians face in rural and underserved communities is healthcare access. This is especially true for older adults. In these communities, it can be difficult for individuals to find providers close to them who are educated in the complexities of caring for older adults. In 2018, the UofL Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging began using a new technology and training model, called Project ECHO®, to address this issue head-on.

Project Echo® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a tele-mentoring movement dedicated to sharing knowledge and amplifying the capacity of health care professionals to provide best practice care for underserved people all over the world. Recognizing a need for increased specialists, particularly in rural communities, Project ECHO utilizes the teleconferencing platform Zoom to create hub-and-spoke knowledge sharing networks around the world. By creating communities of learning Project ECHO improves treatment by moving information instead of people.

Microclinic Facilitators at first training in July 2018

The Microclinic Model Team is a unique approach to community health and wellness.

A ‘microclinic’ is not a small building, but a human infrastructure - a health management collective composed of people who share access to education, technology and social support as members work together to prevent and manage deadly disease.  Microclinics are formed organically from extended families, small businesses, church groups, and more. Rather than attempting to create a new social support system, microclinics galvanize existing social networks. Built on relationships and social capital rather than bricks and mortar, microclinics put the power of health directly into the hands of the community.

Everyone ages. From the moment we are born, we begin to grow, mature, and change - the process of aging. When we are young, we call this “maturing” or “growing up,” but as we advance in years, this process gradually changes into “aging.”