The Pharmacist / Spring 2022 / Volume 44 / Issue 2

A Model for Community Engagement
With her eyes and ears open to community needs, Dr. Jewel Younge
serves local residents and inspires students to do the same.
BY DANIEL P. SMITH
When JEWEL YOUNGE, PharmD ’17, visits her local
grocery store, she opens her ears to others’ comments.
When she’s riding the CTA Green line train, her eyes are
up, thoughtfully observing her fellow passengers.
And for good reason.
“You can’t understand community needs if you detach
yourself from those around you,” says Younge, a clinical
assistant professor at the UIC College of Pharmacy.
Embedded in underserved Chicago communities as
both a clinical pharmacist and researcher, Younge
continues working to understand residents’ experiences
and perspectives—the trauma they feel, the healthcare
challenges they face, and the reservations they carry.
Such active listening and observation, after all, enable
Younge to craft creative interventions that build trust
and help residents better manage their own health.
For example, Younge worked with Red Clay Dance
Company on the city’s south side to provide blood
pressure and blood glucose testing during free
dance classes and launched a weekly popup
program in Chicago’s Bronzeville
neighborhood—Boxville Vitals—to
provide complimentary blood
pressure, blood sugar, and A1C
screenings to residents.
While such efforts uplift individual
lives in the community, they also
ignite Younge’s own sense of
purpose.
“I wouldn’t want to pursue a career
that didn’t allow me to engage with
the community and fulfill needs I see,”
Younge says.
Younge’s pragmatic spirit and commitment to
community engagement has rubbed off on many UIC
pharmacy students, including members of the Urban
Pharmacy Education (UPHARM) program.
“Dr. Younge is a source of inspiration and motivation
who has taught me how to be more caring and
understanding,” fourth-year pharmacy student Paul
Majercak says. “She has a way about listening to others,
being open to conversation, and pushing people to their
greatest potential.”
In early 2019, Majercak and a group of UPHARM peers
launched The Lab Matters, a mobile science lab for
urban youth. While Younge offers logistical support, the
students create the curriculum and direct programming,
which has included in-person and virtual activities
ranging from compounding soap to extracting DNA from
strawberries.
Last October, meanwhile, Younge transferred ownership
of Boxville Vitals to a group of UPHARM students who
continue executing the program.
“It’s important students lead these efforts because
it teaches them how to be more cognizant of and
responsive to the needs of those they’re serving,”
Younge says.
In fact, that’s a key lesson Majercak plans to carry into
his pharmacy career.
“Not every patient is going to be engaged in every
minute aspect of their health, so patience and empathy
are so important,” says Majercak, who presented The Lab
Matters’ latest work at the recent American Society of
Health-System Pharmacists’ Mid-Year Poster Convention.
“With that extra level of understanding and empathy, I
believe I can deliver the best patient care possible.”
Dr. Jewel Younge
18 THE PHARMACIST PHARMACY.UIC.EDU