A team of six Washington State University peer health educators placed second during a statewide public health competition in Seattle, Saturday, April 18. The students won a $2,000 grant to help implement their idea of establishing mutual aid stations throughout Yakima Valley.
Peer health educators are student employees in Cougar Health Services’ Health Education department and facilitate workshops on a variety of health topics.
The competition began in January when 62 teams, consisting of more than 300 students from colleges and universities across Washington, began working on solutions to addressing cuts to Medicaid, a real challenge facing state residents. The peer health educators became finalists in March and recently presented their ideas before a panel of judges.
Borrowing from their work and volunteer experiences on campus, the PHEs created a detailed plan to distribute supplies such as Plan B, diapers, tampons, condoms, and educational materials about the changes to Medicaid.
Team member Ani Rice, a junior neuroscience major, said it was a great opportunity to put everything she has been learning in health education into practice.
