Lighthouse Women & Children’s Center
Title: Empowering Underserved Communities through Health Education and Outreach
Student Interns:
Alexis Ezeanii
Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health
Academic Preceptor:
Holly Metzgar, DO, FACOG, NCMP
Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health
Community Preceptor:
Kate Alley
Lighthouse Women & Children’s Center
Community Site:
Lighthouse Women & Children’s Center is a faith-based organization in Reading, PA, dedicated to supporting women and children experiencing crisis through transitional housing, counseling, health education, and spiritual care. The center fosters long-term stability by addressing barriers to health and wellness. Lighthouse also partners with the Hope Rescue Mission to provide outreach services to men facing housing insecurity.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student intern collaborated with Lighthouse Women & Children’s Center to support health education and community outreach initiatives. The intern created preventive health materials on heat stroke awareness for residents and led a smoking cessation session. Bimonthly health screenings were conducted for women and children at the site. The intern developed and presented a safety protocol for staff, which included training on recognizing opioid overdose, administering Narcan®, performing CPR, and operating an AED. Additionally, the intern visited a local encampment site to connect directly with unsheltered individuals and inform them about available shelter resources.
Reflections
“This summer reshaped how I think about medicine, advocacy, and the spaces where care begins. At Lighthouse Women & Children’s Center, I wasn’t just observing need; I was learning how to respond to it with purpose. Whether creating health resources on heat stroke or speaking with women and children during screenings, every task pushed me to think beyond the textbook and focus on what helps people survive and feel seen. Visiting an encampment site and having real conversations with residents reminded me that connection is often the first step toward healing. Wednesdays were another turning point. Listening to speakers discuss topics like gun violence and the criminalization of pregnancy opened my eyes to how policy decisions directly shape lives. This experience taught me that care isn’t just clinical. Care involves knowing when to speak, when to listen, and how to meet people with dignity in whatever space they’re in.”
Alexis Ezeanii