Outreach and Extension

Undergraduate on Medicare D Education Team

Human Ecology’s student Julie Lundgren, a Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) major, spent summer 2007 as an intern working on a project called CURxED. “Cornell University Resource Education for Medicare Part D” is based on the research of Kosali Simon, professor in PAM.

The objective of the project is to provide educational materials and programming about Medicare Part D. The target audience is the senior citizens in New York State communities, as well as the family members, volunteers, counselors, and human service agencies who assist them.

Julie worked with Robert Harris, who manages the program, and with the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) educators in Seneca County - Debra DiLallo, and Delaware County – Jeanne Darling. Her primary responsibility was translating research for practical application in community education.

Her work resulted in many accomplishments:

• Introducing staff in the CCE offices in Seneca and Delaware counties to ways the CURxED educational material can improve the extensive health care services already in place. 
• Observing how counties serving various demographics differ from one another in both population and method of service provision.
• Presenting the educational program on Medicare Part D to the Office for the Aging and the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Seneca County. Her presentation was well-received and sparked further interest for procuring additional resource and educational materials.
• Creating pamphlets, brochures, and simplified educational tools to untangle the complexities of the new Medicare program and to provoke further interest in reducing prescription drug costs. The materials are being disseminated throughout New York State in order to reach all seniors.
• Researching and extracting data to find trends in enrollment patterns for Medicare prescription drug plans.
• Participating in web design classes to enhance the project website.
• Redesigning the format for project binders that contain detailed information on almost 300 drugs, all the prescription drug plans offered in New York State for the current year, and hypothetical drug regimens.

All of these hands-on activities honed her writing, design, organizational, presentation, and research skills.

She says of her experience, “The complexity was enormous. First, I needed to understand how Cornell plays a role in CCE. Then, Cooperative Extension varies from one county to another in terms of operations and expertise. Some educators have more background in financial management than others, so in some cases it was a matter of educating the educators.

Also, it was challenging to convey insurance information and the rationale behind the Part D policy because doing so didn’t necessarily result in concrete evidence of accomplishments—as does teaching hands-on skills. Finally, the nature of the project: working on many objectives at the same time.”

Julie reports that she learned the value of:

• forming partnerships with other agencies to provide more complete delivery of information without duplicating services;
• helping older people develop a fundamental understanding of Medicare so they will be more prepared to make choices on their own;
• appreciating the value of why Medicare provides over 60 Prescription Drug Plan choices per year in New York State and how CURxED explains the reasoning behind so many plan options through providing a thorough breakdown of each complex component of Medicare Part D.

Julie also says, “I learned a lot about myself. Taking initiative in the ways I did was a new experience. That will help me after I graduate from Cornell.” She has applied for another, different Human Ecology CCE internship for summer 2008.

Photographs taken by Lauri Whatley, Human Ecology Cooperative Extension, April 1, 2008. Please use credit if reproducing any or all photos.

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The College of Human Ecology was founded over 100 years ago with a mandate to extend knowledge that improves the health and quality of life for the people of New York.

Today, Human Ecology's outreach and extension programs have an impact that reaches beyond the boundaries of New York to benefit the nation and the world.

Working closely with Cornell Cooperative Extension, government and community leaders, and experts across Cornell, Human Ecology integrates leading edge research into programs that fulfill Cornell’s Land Grant Mission to address critical challenges, and seize important opportunities, for individuals, families and communities.