Ebonie Woolcock, MD, MPH and Kraft Practitioner providing care at Bowdoin Street Health Center
Special Career Section - Advertorial
Ongoing professional development is essential for success in any career. This is especially true for people who aspire to be leaders. That’s why Partners HealthCare and the Kraft family collaborated to create the Kraft Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health. The Kraft Center aims to help develop the careers and leadership skills of excellent physicians and nurses who are committed to improving the health of our communities.
Ebonie Woolcock, MD, MPH is currently a practitioner in the Kraft Center for Community Health Program and is working at the Bowdoin Street Health Center in Dorchester. Upon completing her residency at Boston Medical Center, Ebonie was certain that she wanted to remain in the Boston area and work in the field of public health. “I was born and raised in Dorchester and I have always had a strong desire to serve the community that raised me,” says Ebonie. An attending physician who served as a mentor at Boston Medical Center had mentioned the Kraft Program to Ebonie, but it wasn’t until she chose to work at Bowdoin Street Health Center that she realized it made perfect sense to pursue the opportunity. The team at Bowdoin Street also strongly encouraged Ebonie to pursue the Program, which made the process easier as well. Ebonie is glad that she did—“The Kraft Program is what allows me to do just what I had hoped to do. I get to work in the community health centers I went to growing up. And I get to be the face I didn’t get to see growing up. I not only look like my patients, but I was also raised in the same neighborhoods they were.”
As a Kraft Practitioner, Ebonie is able to further her education, while also providing leadership on a specific project that addresses a particular need in the community. Ebonie is familiar with the challenges a family can face with pregnancy—Ebonie’s own mother gave birth to her as a teenager. For her project, Ebonie is caring for expectant mothers who are patients at Bowdoin Street and extending their care beyond the standard health care services. Along with the basic provision of care, Ebonie is also improving the financial literacy of her patients. “There are many different things about parenthood that can overwhelm a new mom—including finances,” says Ebonie. “We hope to help our patients learn to budget, find ways to afford their new expenses, and also plan for the future. Financial education is important for the healthy life of both the mother and the child.”
The work that Ebonie is doing is essential for the health of the community—she identified a need specific to the population she serves and is working to meet that need. Her participation as a Kraft Practitioner is what enables this work. “Kraft has allowed me to take time out of seeing patients to address a need that will make a difference in families’ lives, says Ebonie. Kraft has also been a vital part of Ebonie’s continuing education: “It has also helped me further my education through both school and through connecting with other Kraft physicians and nurses participating in the program. The opportunity to share about our experiences in community health centers is an education in and of itself.”
“Ebonie Woolcock is a great example of what Partners and the Kraft family had in mind when establishing the Kraft Center for Community Health,” says Matt Fishman, Partners HealthCare Vice President for Community Health. “Her familiarity with and dedication to her patients at the health center are outstanding. And her commitment to learning and using the leadership skills necessary to work with patients to make progress on their core needs is what truly makes a difference in the health and well-being of the whole community.”
Since its founding in 2011, the Kraft Center for Community Health has placed thirteen fellows and thirty seven practitioners like Ebonie in twenty five community health centers and community mental health centers throughout eastern Massachusetts.
