- foster a culture that values cross-disciplinary interaction, communication, and collaboration to enrich teaching, learning, research, and service delivery in the area of health and human services;
- build university-community partnerships that are responsive to the communities we represent; and
- enhance educational relevance of health and human services initiatives
- have the internal and external organizational structures to achieve its vision.
- secure and maintain the human, financial and physical resources to achieve its vision.
- engage local, state, regional, national and international constituencies in collaborative outreach activities.
- be a recognized leader in the provision of health and human services education.
- impact heath and human service practice and policy by effectively communicating its achievements.
- be a recognized leader in health and human services research and scholarship.
B.J. Bryson, Coordinator
Acting Out uses theater to educate and empower through two programs: Teen Theater works with students ages 12-18 to produce an original script each semester, and the OutREACH Program focuses on character building in regional middle and high schools and after-school programs in the community.
Nancy Owens, Director
The Adult Health and Development Program is an intergenerational program designed to promote health in older adults (those 55+). College students work one-on-one with older adults from the local community. An individualized program is designed to meet each program participant’s unique needs. The program develops a sense of positive health and well-being in the older adult and promotes a sense of community on a broader scale.
Deborah Ford, Program Coordinator
Alpha Epsilon Delta, the largest honor society exclusively serving pre-professional health students, has its national headquarters at JMU. It has 186 chapters and a membership of more than 145,000. The Scalpel, the AED journal, is published twice a year. AED is a member society of the Association of College Honor Societies.
Dr. Steve Evans, Director
The Alvin V. Baird Attention and Learning Disabilities Center is dedicated to service, training and research focused on individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and learning disabilities. There are many services provided including the Challenging Horizons Program, Learning Leaders, and Center for Learning Strategies. The Challenging Horizons Program is a school-based treatment program for middle school youth with ADHD and is a treatment outcome research project. Learning Leaders is a mentoring and remedial education program for children with ADHD and learning disabilities. The Center for Learning Strategies provides evaluation and consultation services for young adults enrolled in a college or university.
Dr. Tom Dillon, Director
The Center is designed to provide an infrastructure for promoting, coordinating and facilitating learning opportunities, initiatives and projects in the area of Bio and Health Informatics.
Christopher Nye, Executive Director
The Blue Ridge Area Health Education Center at JMU strives to improve the health of communities through education, collaboration, and cooperation. It focuses on the health care needs of vulnerable populations. The AHEC fosters partnerships that utilize academic and community resources and directs these resources to health and human service gaps that exist within communities. The AHEC program has been a traditional link between academic health and human services programs and communities, utilizing student, faculty, and other academic resources to the benefit of the communities.
Vickie Landes, Director
Caregivers Community Network provides services, companionship, and support for those who care for frail older family members. CCN also provides services for those with memory loss or Alzheimer’s disease. CCN can help to give caregivers a break and provide valuable time to care for themselves as well as their loved ones.
Dr. Tim Schulte, Director
The Center for Learning Strategies offers diagnostic evaluation, consultation, and support services for adults enrolled in a college or university. Diagnostic evaluation and testing services are provided by inter-professional evaluation teams consisting of professionals from clinical psychology, communication sciences, clinical neuro-psychology, special education and nursing. The Center for Learning Strategies works closely with individuals to build on strengths, identify areas of need, and design positive ways to promote meaningful learning and educational experiences.
Bonnie Larson-Brogdon, Director of Multicultural Programs
Lana Shulgan, CHIS Coordinator
Linguistic and cultural barriers seriously compromise the quality of health care received by hundreds of Shenandoah Valley residents. To address this challenge, the Community Health Interpreter Service provides training to bilingual persons to serve as interpreters for persons with limited English proficiency during health care encounters. The program schedules interpreters upon request from area health care providers.
Liz Brickhouse, Coordinator
The Community Resource Center, a partnership program, provides information about community resources and serves as a referral center. It is also a clearinghouse for coordinating agency needs with community volunteers and resources.
Dr. Tim Schulte, Director
Counseling and Psychological Services is a teaching, research, and service mental health clinic. CAPS offers affordable outpatient mental health services to the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County community while providing students in the Department of Graduate Psychology experience in assessment and treatment of psychological problems. CAPS is equipped to provide individual, couple, and family therapy as well as to conduct intellectual and psychological assessments across the lifespan.
Ann Myers, Coordinator
Generations Together is an intergenerational program combining the interests and activities of children, college students, and older adults. College students and adults will be paired together to be co-mentors to a school-aged child while participating in group games and other fun activities. Each week the students, adults and children participate in planned activities that allow each individual to benefit from an intergenerational experience.
Dr. David Cockley, Director
The JMU Health Policy Center is a research and education arm of the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services. It provides research expertise on the tracking, development and analysis of relevant local, regional and federal public health policies. Particular emphasis is placed on addressing policies that impact rural communities, disadvantaged populations, and the geriatric and immigrant populations that are prominent in the western Virginia region. The Center also supports the education arm of the university by providing interdisciplinary resources for the instruction and application of health policy in organizational and community settings.
Emily Akerson, Director
Healthy Families Page County is based on a national program model and provides education, resources and support for the most vulnerable first time parents in Page County through voluntary home visiting services.
Nancy Owens, Director
The Lifelong Learning Institute, a partnership between JMU and adults over the age of 50 from the region, offers participants college level courses on a non-credit basis. Undergraduate students can assist in the classroom by enrolling in a one-credit workshop course.
Jane Hubbell, Director
The Office on Children and Youth, a partnership program, provides information and referral services to children and youth with the goal of promoting positive development. OCY is a central contact point for services in the Shenandoah Valley to support, coordinate, and examine the needs of our children and youth. OCY administers the Youth Data Survey bi-annually in the Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County schools.
Jeanne M. Martino-McAllister, Director
The Office of Substance Abuse Research, located within the Department of Health Sciences, is designed to serve students, faculty, the community and the Commonwealth of Virginia in addressing alcohol and other drug usage prevention. OSAR has a long history of supporting substance abuse prevention through an undergraduate curriculum for minors, survey research, evaluation, data collection, capacity-building, curriculum development, and science-based programs. OSAR practices technical assistance and workforce development. Services are provided on a contractual basis to off-campus constituents.
Nelly Moreno Shenk, Director
Through a 40-hour curriculum in basic health promotion and disease prevention, Hispanic women are empowered to take greater control of their health and to assist members of their community by providing health information and directing them to appropriate community resources.
Pat Kennedy, Program Director
This grant-funded initiative is a mobile literacy program that brings books and literacy skills to the community targeting the 0- to 5-year-old population and their families. The program serves Harrisonburg, Rockingham County and Page County with a book exchange program that visits low-income neighborhoods and day care centers throughout the area.
Jane Hubbell and Christopher Nye, Co-Lead Agents
The Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services administers Ryan White II Care Act funds for northwest Virginia. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is federal legislation that addresses the unmet health needs of persons living with HIV disease by funding primary health care and support services. The CARE Act was named after Ryan White, an Indiana teenager whose courageous struggle with HIV/AIDS and against AIDS-related discrimination helped educate the nation.
Penny Critzer, Director
The CDC provides individualized, interdisciplinary evaluations that may include medical, social work, nursing, educational, psychological, speech/language and audiology components depending upon the specialized needs of the child/adolescent. Children/adolescents evaluated may have developmental, educational, emotional or behavioral concerns. By partnering with families and community service providers, the CDC provides care coordination services to assist children/adolescents and families in accessing medical, educational, social and mental health services. Services are provided on a sliding fee scale and Medicaid/FAMIS are accepted. The CDC serves as a resource to the community by providing consultation, training and advocacy for children, adolescents, families and service providers. Training opportunities are available in the CDC for students from a variety of disciplines.
Bonnie Larson-Brogdon, Director of Multicultural Programs
The Migrant Education Program provides free, supplemental education services to children and youth aged 3-21 of migrant and highly mobile agricultural workers. Services include tutoring/mentoring, school readiness initiatives, dropout prevention activities, educational interpretations (Spanish/English) and facilitation of families’ stabilization in the community. The SVMEP serves as a point of contact for the Hispanic Services Council, a networking organization of agencies interested in the Latino population.
Sara E. Runyan, Director
The JMU Speech-Language-Hearing Applied Laboratory, formerly referred to as the JMU Speech and Hearing Center, provides communication evaluation and treatment services to individuals with known or suspected speech and/or hearing impairments. For over 25 years this center has provided assistance to residents of the Shenandoah Valley ranging in age from infants to senior citizens. Hearing testing and aid advising is available for those with concerns regarding hearing. Evaluation and treatment of communication impairments, including speech, sound disorders, language impairments, voice disorders, and stuttering problems are additional services offered in the applied laboratory. Graduate students supervised by faculty who are licensed audiologists or speech-language pathologists serve as clinicians in this lab.
Kim Hartzler-Weakley, Coordinator
The grant-funded Teen Pregnancy Prevention program is a region-wide initiative to reduce teen pregnancies and educate youth concerning health and wellness issues. Working in the schools and community, the program serves the Shenandoah Health District and works with thousands of youth each year, providing “Vision of You” classes as well as the “Baby Think it Over” doll program.
Emily Akerson, Director
The Health Place, an initiative of the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services, serves as a resource that promotes the provision of interdisciplinary health and human services that are affordable, accessible, responsive to, and advance the physical, mental and developmental health of Page County residents. Programs and services provided through or supported by THP are characterized by their responsiveness to community-identified needs, quality, dignity and respect accorded each individual.
Cheryl Henderson and Melinda Bright, Co-directors
The mission of Virginia’s Training/Technical Assistance Centers is to improve educational opportunities and contribute to the success of children and youth with disabilities (birth through 22 years). The centers provide quality training and technical assistance in response to local, regional and state needs. T/TAC services increase the capacity of schools, school personnel, service providers and families to meet the needs of children and youth. The Region 5 T/TAC serves as the fiscal agent for the Northwestern T/TAC Consortium, which includes the Region 4 T/TAC located at George Mason University.
Gary Race, Executive Director
The Valley AIDS Network (VAN) provides support service to people living with HIV and/or AIDS in the Central Shenandoah Valley. VAN provides case management, medical and dental assistance, transportation support, client advocacy, housing assistance, and nutritional support. Through information, education, outreach, and referral, VAN aims to prevent the spread of the HIV virus in the Central Shenandoah Valley.
Christopher Nye, Executive Director
The Virginia Center for Health Outreach is developing an infrastructure to strengthen the practice, policy and research of the Community Health Worker (CHW) field in Virginia. CHWs are trained laypersons that serve as health resource persons in the communities where they live and work. The center works to acknowledge and help CHWs capitalize upon the key roles they play in improving public health through the provision of preventive services and facilitating access to primary care.
Ann Myers and Keith Gnagey, Co-chairs
This partnership between the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community and JMU aims to foster excellence and innovation in the field of aging/gerontology while building university-community partnerships that are responsive to the communities represented and served. In addition, the partnership collaborates in educational, research and service initiatives that facilitate understanding of the knowledge and skills needed in working with aging populations and enhances programs that provide services for the aging. Finally, the partnership seeks to promote quality learning experiences for students based on needs identified by the communities represented and seeks to influence students to select careers in aging.
Dr. Diane Foucar-Szocki, Director
The Workforce Improvement Network is funded by the Office of Adult Education of the Virginia Department of Education and is a partnership between James Madison University and the Virginia Literacy Foundation. The mission of the WIN is to encourage and support the development and expansion of customized foundational basic skill instruction for Virginia’s workforce. One program of WIN is the Workforce Development Campus, an online virtual campus that provides curriculum development, project collaboration and other services to workforce professionals.
Dr. Jane Wiggins, Program Coordinator
This grant-funded program provides education concerning depression and suicide prevention throughout the region. The goal is to educate school personnel, students and communities about warning signs of suicide, coping skills for depression and resources for the Shenandoah Valley to reduce incidences of youth suicide.