This PA Week, Support PAs Making an IMPACT

This PA Week, Support PAs Making an IMPACT

Donations help fund future patient-centered, community-based health projects

September 24, 2025

PA Week is more than just a time to celebrate the PA profession - it's an opportunity to give back and support those who are making a lasting impact in their communities.

During PA Week, October 6-12, the Physician Associate Foundation (PAF) invites the PA community to support its IMPACT Grant Program to help fund future patient-centered, community-based health projects within the United States and its territories.

[Show your PA pride and donate this PA Week!]

The IMPACT Grant Program provides funding to encourage and support PA and PA student involvement in projects that demonstrate an impact on patient health outcomes. Since the program's inception in 2015, PAF has awarded IMPACT Grants to over 40 recipients with innovative ideas to improve healthcare access and delivery in communities across the country.

In 2024, the James Madison University (JMU) PA Student Society received an IMPACT Grant for its project titled "Healthcare for the Homeless Suitcase Clinic - Improving Access to Health and Wellness," led by Jordan André, PA-S, and Sharon Maiewski, PA-C. The project focuses on improving access to routine medical, dental, vision, and behavioral healthcare for shelter residents, and improving access to prevention and wellness resources.

For people experiencing homelessness, medical concerns are often untreated due to a lack of trust, proximity, health insurance, transportation, and resources needed to navigate the healthcare system. By bringing compassionate and trauma-informed medical care directly to homeless shelters, the Suitcase Clinic initiative helps patients circumvent these barriers so their medical needs can be addressed more thoroughly.

"This grant gives our PA students a meaningful opportunity to connect with shelter residents-not just by providing routine healthcare, but by working together to understand the social challenges that affect their health," said Maiewski, an associate professor at JMU and director of the Homeless Suitcase Clinic. "Students will collaborate with patients to create personalized wellness plans that reflect their goals and needs.

Funding from PAF will help provide clinic supplies, a trauma-informed care space, exam equipment, and vision and dental care. In addition, having a permanent shelter site with greater capacity will enlarge the clinic's patient panel, improve continuity of care, and allow more opportunities for promoting wellness among the community.

"Thanks to the support from the IMPACT Grant, our students can help bring those plans to life by connecting patients with resources that support their health and overall wellbeing." said Maiewski. "It's a powerful experience for our students, and a chance to make a real difference in the lives of people in our community."

[Find PAF grantees and other PAs and PA students making an impact on AAPA's new Nationwide PA Impact Map!]

Other recent IMPACT Grant projects include a "Fall Into Health and Wellness" Fair to promote health and wellness across Lake County, Ohio; a STOP THE BLEED® training in Hartford, Connecticut, to equip community members to recognize and respond to life-threatening bleeding; the HOME (Homeless Outreach Medicine and Education) Program in Leon County, Florida, bridging the gap in healthcare accessibility for people experiencing homelessness; and more community-based efforts. Previous grantees and details on their projects can be found on the PAF website.

Help empower PAs and PA students transforming community health and changing lives with a PA Week gift to the IMPACT Grant fund!

For more information on IMPACT Grants, please contact Allie Rivera at [email protected].

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