The Brodie Committee grants the Brodie Medical Education Scholar Award on an annual basis to an “innovator in socially accountable medical education.” President Clancy gave two lectures while at the University of Virginia, as well as attended community meetings. His presentations focused on how location of residency in American cities determines life expectancy, calling on data and Clancy’s experience in the field during ten years (2005-2015).
After finding out residents of north Tulsa had a life expectancy 14 years lower than those who live in midtown, he actively sought to improve health standards and initiatives for north Tulsans. After ten years, life expectancy increased in north Tulsa by three years, according to Clancy. The math works out thus: 20,000 residents multiplied by three years apiece gives a total of 60,000 years of life added.
Clancy said there is more work yet to be done, and that the next phase of the project will pose its own set of challenges. The goals are to create safer access to care for north Tulsans, along with food security and better nutritional options in the neighborhoods.
“Also key is working to change the culture surrounding health and mental illness in these communities,” Clancy said. Mental illness is a large problem in north Tulsa, as well as Oklahoma as a whole.
Oklahoma is second highest in the nation in number of adults struggling with mental illness. The state also has very high rates of various types of trauma: child abuse, neglect and incarcerated persons. The site claims these are all large contributors to the development of mental illness and addiction.
President Clancy recounted a time in his experience in which he met a patient with a mental illness in north Tulsa who had gone 20 years without seeing a doctor. Stories like this indicate just how bad the problem is just a few blocks north of the TU campus, let alone how bad it is statewide.
What matters is that the city of Tulsa recognized the problem and actively takes steps to fix it. In Clancy’s opinion, Tulsa is one of the first cities in America to take such a health initiative.
President Clancy shared his vision for the next five years at TU. He wants students to see problems in the real world and their communities, make a solution and act upon it. To that end, this fall he will teach a leadership class for freshmen involving case studies concerning racial tensions in the United States, policy analysis on K-12 education in Oklahoma and improving US/China or US/Russia relations, among other topics.
