SIUE’s Dr. Jerrica Ampadu Labors to Produce Health, Wellness and Equity
A nurse. A professor. An administrator. A diversity champion. These descriptors define the engaging, multi-faceted and impressive career of SIUE’s Jerrica Ampadu, PhD, RN, CCP, associate professor in the SIUE School of Nursing (SON) and director of the SIUE WE CARE Clinic in East St. Louis.
“As a nurse and scholar, I have the best of both worlds. I get to teach students and directly impact the healthcare of my community,” said Ampadu, a native of East St. Louis.
Ampadu’s involvement with SIUE goes back further than her more than 20-year-career at the University. She earned a bachelor’s in 1997 and a master’s in 2002, both in nursing from SIUE.
“I jokingly say I have been at SIUE my entire life,” she said.
Ampadu began working at SIUE in 2002 as a part-time lecturer, teaching clinical courses. She became a full-time instructor in 2006 and was promoted to an associate professor in 2021.
“As an associate professor, my teaching, my scholarship and service focus on health equity, specifically workforce diversity and access to care,” noted Ampadu.
“I teach across the curriculum to undergraduate and graduate nursing students. I teach First Semester Transition course to incoming students for the Summer Success Program. I mentor doctoral students on their final projects. I recently created a paid internship designed to provide undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities during the summer.”
Ampadu also directs the Student Nurse Achievement Program, which is designed to support underrepresented students in nursing by addressing the social determinates of education. “As a faculty member, I have acquired and managed more than $2.1 million in grant funding to support underrepresented students,” she explained.
Ampadu serves on numerous committees within the SON and the University. She also operates as the co-chair of the Leadership Succession Committee of the Diversity Equity Inclusion Leadership Network (DEILN) for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) the Voice of Academic Nursing. In June, Ampadu received a diversity certification by completing the AACN's Diversity Leadership Institute.
Ampadu took up the reigns as director of the WE CARE Clinic, a primary care clinic on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus, in August 2019. “The mission of the Clinic is to advance health equity by increasing access to healthcare to East St. Louis and surrounding communities (underserved communities) and to prepare health professional students,” informed Ampadu.
As director, Ampadu oversees all Clinic functions and actively seeks opportunities to support it.
“Currently, I am building a mobile health unit which will serve as another access point to the community,” she offered. “In addition to building a mobile health unit, I work with an interprofessional team (nursing, pharmacy, nutrition and public health) to ensure clients receive culturally competent care.”
Ampadu also manages an asthma program that provides asthma education and home visits, free of charge, to residents of St. Clair and Madison counties. She has acquired and managed more than $7 million in private, state and federal funds for the programs at the Clinic.
“The We Care Clinic plays a critical role in addressing health inequities in East St. Louis and surrounding communities,” said Ampadu. “Our interprofessional team is dedicated to addressing the chronic illnesses that are caused and exacerbated by environmental conditions that our residents have no control over. We are also educating and preparing nursing, public health, and nutrition students to address the social determinates of health and to become change agents for social justice. Patient-provider concordance is essential in advancing health equity in our community.”
The WE CARE Clinic provides primary patient care at 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in Building D. Our staff includes four advanced Nurse Practitioners, a collaborating physician, a clinical social worker, certified health coaches, nursing faculty, and a doctorally prepared pharmacist. All of our providers provide comprehensive services to our diverse clients who reside in the Metro East and surrounding communities.
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Jerrica Ampadu, PhD, RN, CCP, associate professor in the SON and director of the SIUE WE CARE Clinic