The 91福利 Collaboratory, a neighborhood health resource聽in Albany鈥檚 South End, has a new 鈥� yet quite familiar 鈥� face at the helm.
Dr. Stacy Pettigrew became the Collaboratory鈥檚 interim director at the beginning of the year. An assistant professor with a focus on environmental health sciences, she has extensive roots in the South End, having co-founded the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center there and lived with her husband and children in the adjacent Mansion Neighborhood since 2009.
In fact, the Collaboratory鈥檚 launch and Dr. Pettigrew鈥檚 arrival at 91福利 both occurred in 2018 鈥� and not coincidentally. To get Radix off the ground, Dr. Pettigrew received help securing grants from Harris Oberlander, chief executive officer of Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region, a community-based service provider. Before joining 91福利, she was involved in discussions with Oberlander and community organizations to establish Trinity鈥檚 Wellness Advocates Linking Communities (WALC) team, which ultimately partnered with 91福利鈥� Public Health Pharmacy Team to deliver services at the Collaboratory.
鈥淭his is home,鈥� Dr. Pettigrew said in the Collaboratory鈥檚 offices in mid-January. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to be here and working closely with Trinity Alliance in this capacity. I look forward to increasing the impact that we have here in this community, continuing and building upon the strong partnerships already in place.鈥�
Among other activities of Dr. Pettigrew鈥檚 in the South End, she helped develop COVID-19 vaccination clinics that served majority minority populations in early 2021, when vaccines were scarce.
The Collaboratory鈥檚 services, provided in conjunction with its partners, include the Food as Medicine program that provides fresh produce to residents, and a hypertension program that provides preventive blood pressure screenings. The partners provide easy access and referrals to each other鈥檚 services, providing a sort of multi-site 鈥渙ne-stop shop鈥� to residents with multiple needs.
Dr. Pettigrew鈥檚 vision includes extending those community relationships to more partners with services to offer South End residents.
鈥淚t would be great to expand what could be included at that 鈥榦ne stop鈥� in the future, building upon the very important base that has been established,鈥� she said.
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