Bridging the Gaps (BTG) places health professional students at various community sites in order to provide service to underserved populations, while training community responsive health and social service professionals. BTG seeks to provide meaningful service in a system of care that is often unresponsive to the needs of vulnerable populations. BTG’s goal is serving those who are most often forgotten in terms of health, those for whom services are often limited, difficult to access, or non-existent, and for whom significant health disparities exist. At the same time, BTG teaches our future health professionals about the reciprocal connections between a community's socioeconomic circumstances, the healthcare system, and the health of the population. BTG is an annual project with new students serving a seven-week summer session each year.

LECOM’s BTG interns develop projects to serve the Erie community site to which they were matched. The focus of these projects include educating the population on oral health, physical and mental health, first-aid, pre-and postpartum health, hygiene, nutrition and smoking cessation. Their projects also involve prevention of teen pregnancy, building self-confidence, elder wellness and hospice care in addition to many other health focus areas.

The students provide approximately 4,500 hours of community service at Erie community sites. In addition to the above projects, students conduct oral health sessions at the sites. A total of 1,788 children, 600 adults and 552 elderly received oral health education and oral health supplies. Supplies include a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss. A total of $1,000 is allocated and used to provide free dental supplies to the community sites. Community site preceptors and academic LECOM faculty members guide the students as they build relationships that further connect LECOM with the Erie community and its underserved populations.