Geisinger School of Medicine Student Wins Gold Foundation Fellowship Members News June 25, 2025 Ethan Boyle, a member of Geisinger School of Medicine’s MD Class of 2028, was awarded a highly competitive Gold Student Summer Fellowship from The Arnold P. Gold Foundation. His project, “Action Against Healthcare Inequalities for Patients Experiencing Substance Abuse and Homelessness,” will address healthcare access issues for people served by Scranton’s Community Intervention Center (CIC). The project focuses on recording weekly vital signs for 100-150 patients, providing essential hygiene and harm-reduction products, and connecting patients to free healthcare clinics. The goal is to rebuild trust between this at-risk population and healthcare systems. Ethan, who plans to pursue a career in psychiatry, said he was inspired to apply for the fellowship thanks to his community immersion experiences at Geisinger’s School of Medicine. “One reason I came to Geisinger was its community focus,” Ethan said. “I’m interested in understanding the social drivers of health. Volunteering at the CIC helped me to see the correlation between things like mental health and substance use, and how supporting hygiene can also support better health.” Working with faculty mentor Kate Lafferty-Danner, PhD, assistant professor of medical humanities and community engagement, Ethan proposed a 10-week summer project to build on CIC’s holistic, patient-centered approach by promoting healthcare access, education, and harm-reduction strategies. Weekly vital-sign screenings and referrals to healthcare clinics will provide preventive and longitudinal care. “My goal is to bridge the gap between CIC patients and healthcare services by providing hygiene and harm-reduction products like Narcan, conducting weekly vital-sign checks, offering healthcare education and connecting patients to free medical services like the Leahy Clinic at The University of Scranton,” he said. “I’ll manage the inventory and create educational materials, as well.” Impact will be analyzed through data generated by the weekly vital sign checks, demand for hygiene products, patient feedback and records from the Leahy Clinic. Ethan will ensure the work continues by training new medical students to take over when he advances in his training.Medical student projects rewarded with a Gold Humanism fellowship must: improve the health and lives of traditionally underserved populations focus on understanding and/or enhancing cultural humility in delivering care encourage collegial and interprofessional teamwork be designed and implemented by students promote a lasting or systemic change The fellowships are awarded to a limited number of medical students each year. The selection process is competitive, requiring applicants to submit a detailed proposal outlining their project and its alignment with the fellowship’s goals. Projects must demonstrate a need identified by the community or patients who will be affected.
