Root Cause: Health Kit Initiative During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Root Cause is a monthly community health event hosted by the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Medicine Greenville in partnership with Prisma Health in the Dunean community in Greenville, South Carolina. Each month, a free meal is provided by Project Host and health care experts provide resources and hands-on education on relevant public health topics. Due to COVID-19 and limitations on large group events, in October of 2020, the Root Cause team and our community partners curated a health kit in direct response to community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health kit included reusable DIY mask materials and instructions in English and Spanish, personal hygiene products donated by local businesses, and personal notes from medical students to community members. Furthermore, we included healthcare resources created by USC School of Medicine student interest groups and Root Cause community partners. Specifically, based on responses from our community partners, we included Be SMART gun violence prevention tips, FAVOR Greenville information for questions about drug or alcohol use, pamphlets with information about free medical clinics in Greenville, grow kits (planting pot, seeds, and soil), affordable mental health resources, information about FoodShare and their COVID-19 initiative to provide discounted fresh produce boxes, a fall cookbook created by the Lifestyle Medicine interest group, free rapid HIV and Hepatitis C test location information, and an informational sheet of virtual school tips for children and parents. Medical students were involved in the packaging and distribution of the health kits. We ultimately donated 500 health kits to our community partners who serve those in need in the greater Greenville, South Carolina area.