History & Timeline
1/1/2022
On behalf of the HEALTH for All program and the Nurse Managed Primary Care (NMPC) we would like to welcome Heather M. Milea, MSN, FNP-BC, AGACNP-BC, PCCN, CHFN. Heather Milea is a nurse practitioner with over twenty years acumen at ChristianaCare. Her clinical background includes family medicine, heart failure, cardiology with focus on preventative medicine, and palliative medicine. She is an alumnae of the University of Delaware’s baccalaureate and masters nursing programs, graduating with a concentration in family nurse practitioner. Heather also completed a post-master’s graduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania in adult gerontological acute care. Heather has been recognized as one of the 2021 top nurse practitioners by Delaware Today and is a member of several national and local nursing organizations including the Delaware Coalition of Nurse Practitioners.
Heather will be sharing her time between the HEALTH for All program and the Nurse Managed Primary Care. While Heather is with the NMPCC at UD as a Primary Care provider, she will be accepting new patients in the clinic. She will also join other clinicians at the NMPCC as a preceptor to undergraduate and graduate nursing students, and will be part of the Parkinson’s Disease clinic team. When Heather is with the HEALTH for All program, she will be providing Primary Care to our most vulnerable community members at locations where they work, play, and pray. Heather will also be responsible for overseeing and teaching undergraduate and graduate nursing students while they are on their community health rotations.
2/1/2021 - Present
HEALTH for All began in 2021 and was built off of the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from a previous pilot that was launched the year before. With the COVID 19 pandemic arriving within weeks of the pilot launch, the pilot experience taught us a great deal about being nimble and working with community and campus partners to be innovative and collaborative in making education and outreach initiatives accessible and meaningful for all involved. As a result, the new program embraces more opportunities for virtual programming while also working with community partners to tailor on site offerings that compliment and strengthen their approach to outreach and services in the light of the pandemic.
HEALTH for All partners include Lieutenant Governor’s office, UD Partnership for Healthy Communities (PHC), and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware.
2/1/2020-1/31/2021 - Initial Pilot
In collaboration with the Lieutenant Governor’s office, and Saint Francis representatives, UD Partnership for Healthy Communities (PHC) secured funding from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware to support a partnership with Saint Francis Healthcare mobile health van.
Christine Sowinski joined the PHC team in the fall of 2019 as PHC’s Mobile Health Coordinator and worked with partners to have the first cohort of students on the mobile health unit in February 2020 at the start of the spring semester. An official kick-off was held in Wilmington in March. The van traveled to community centers, schools, senior centers, churches and other sites across the greater Wilmington area for several weeks as part of a monthly schedule.
The van enabled faculty, staff and students to support improvements in health outcomes in Wilmington’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, through Community Health Services Outreach.
The van was also devoted to community Health and Wellness Outreach (HWO). On HWO days the van visited sites identified in collaboration with the Lieutenant Governor Challenge, a public health initiative to address community health needs, promote healthy living choices and wellness. Site activities include physical and behavioral health screenings and education.
Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Mobile Health van was interrupted and unable to service the Delaware community during spring 2020 as planned in the pilot. However, this did not stop the Mobile Health team from finding other safe and effective ways of serving the local areas during these difficult times. Rita Landgraf organized service teams to screen for COVID-19 symptoms among those experiencing homelessness. Services teams were sent out in every county in Delaware. The goal was to screen and identify those with potential symptoms and provide isolation to the individuals to prevent spread of the the virus to others who are vulnerable and at risk.
Read More About Our COVID 19 Response Work:
Partnership for Healthy Communities
The mission of the UD Partnership for Healthy Communities is to align and strengthen University of Delaware research, educational, and service capabilities to improve the health and well-being of Delaware communities and beyond through effective community partnerships. We will focus especially on communities currently experiencing social inequities.
Special Thanks to Our Community Partners
Lieutenant Governor’s Office
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
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University of Delaware
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware
University of Delaware
