Welcome to the J R Young Health Equity Institute
We deliver high-quality, affordable services that move both educational equity and health equity forward for everyone. The Office of Health Equity Education and the College of Diverse Education, Health, and Wellness Sciences exist for you, your family, your community, and beyond — so that better health outcomes can become a reality.
Our Institute
Our vision is to lead an innovative, productive, and culturally competent world that systematically eliminates educational and health disparities.
College of Diverse Education, Health, and Wellness Sciences
We build a healthier, brighter future for all. Enroll in our Health Equity in Nursing and Healthcare, Public Health in Nursing, RN-BSN, Master of Science in Nursing, or Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. Tuition is affordable and the curriculum is innovative, designed to advance educational equity and health equity.
Institutional Outcomes
- Establish expectations and build alliances
- Champion educational equity and health equity
- Deliver global educational and healthcare resources for diverse populations
- Design, implement, and evaluate programs that improve educational and health outcomes
- Integrate foundational technology and classroom innovation
- Offer evidence-based, competency-based, and systems-based services
- Prepare populations and communities for team-based education and care
- Advance global education and health
Research
Interprofessional Protocols Improves Outcomes in People with Type 2 Diabetes
This copyrighted study, "Interprofessional Protocols Improves Outcomes in People with Type 2 Diabetes," was carried out by Dr. Geraldine Q. Young, DNP. The peer-reviewed descriptive, comparative, and translational research was accepted by the Nurse Practitioner journal in April 2022, and Dr. Young retains full copyright of the work.
Implementing Competency-based Interprofessional Education in Historically Black Colleges and Universities
The following study was conducted by Dr. Young, accepted by the Journal for Nurse Practitioners in March 2022, and published online in April and in the journal in September: Young, G. (2022). Implementing competency-based interprofessional education in historically Black colleges and universities. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners.
This work is foundational to innovation in educational equity and health equity. If you would like to use this research, please reach out to us.
The Founder and President
Dr. Geraldine Q. Young founded the J R Health Equity Institute (HEI), a nonprofit, charitable education organization created to broadly reduce education and health disparities in the Mississippi Delta and beyond on the path to education and health equity. Interprofessional partnerships across education, healthcare, the community, government, and research are hallmarks of the institute. She is also the founder and CEO of the Diverse Coat Society.
Prior to founding the institute, she was Associate Professor and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Frontier Nursing University, Associate Professor and Director for Graduate Nursing Programs at Kentucky State University, and Assistant Professor at Alcorn State University. Her credentials include a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2010), an MSN from Alcorn State University (2005), and a BSN from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (2001). Dr. Young is a board-certified family nurse practitioner (FNP) (2005) and a certified diabetes care and education specialist.
Her nursing career spans 25 years (20 years as an FNP, 13 as a preceptor, 19 as a mentor for NPs, 14 as NP faculty, and 8 years as a family medical practice owner). Championing faculty and student competencies stands among her greatest academic contributions. Dr. Young is a newly appointed member of the Journal of Nursing Education (JNE) Editorial Board and a National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Exam Development Volunteer. She is a National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Leadership Fellow and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and has been recognized as a content expert for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Dr. Young has served on the NONPF Curricular Leadership Committee (co-chair), the Annual and Fall Conference Committees, and the Program Director and Research Special Interest Groups, and has also served on the NONPF Board of Directors.
Dr. Young’s scholarship and research center on diabetes, education and health disparities, quality improvement, interprofessional education, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. In 2021, in honor of Women’s History Month, Diverse magazine named her a Leading Woman in Higher Education. She is a recipient of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Visionary Leader Award and is also recognized as a Notable Female Alumni by Alcorn State University.
Dr. Young introduced innovative, strategic approaches that helped the nursing profession weather the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, social change, and educational advancement. She also served on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials Task Force, contributing to the change nursing education needs today. As founder and leader of the J R Young HEI, Dr. Young brings the ground-breaking knowledge, skills, and attitude to lead the paradigm shift in nursing and healthcare. She has devoted more than 24 years of her career to educating the next generation of nursing leaders and has innovatively supported the nursing profession and healthcare.
Dr. Young has helped improve outcomes for underserved and marginalized populations with diabetes by delivering effective clinical practice models nationwide, in conjunction with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). She has also owned a nationally recognized private practice (Quality Health Care Services, PA) that provided quality, equitable healthcare services, and she has served on numerous community committees in Mississippi. Today she practices and manages Clinical Services at the J R Young HEI, which she built from the ground up.
Dr. Young has developed diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and antiracism policies, practices, and services. She has shared these principles and services nationally and internationally through research, education, practice, and policy. Dr. Young has also created models (e.g., Health Equity Model©® and DIVE INTO HEALTH EQUITY Model©®) that broadly reduce educational and health disparities to improve outcomes, and she has successfully secured funding for and served as Project Director of the HRSA Nursing Workforce Diversity Program.
Dr. Young is exceptionally equipped to address educational and health disparities, navigate complex healthcare delivery systems, and transform care to advance health equity.
Willette Mathis, Director of Finance & Owner of L&S Tax SVC.
Willette Mathis serves as Director of Finance for the J R Young Health Equity Institute. She earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Georgia State University in 2000 and brings more than 20 years of accounting experience. She is a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals. Willette is performance-driven and insightful in accounting and administrative roles, with a proven ability to achieve and exceed revenue and business development goals in high-pressure environments. She is an energetic and goal-oriented individual with a passi
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Whether you are a prospective student, a community partner, or a patient seeking care, the J R Young Health Equity Institute brings education, research, and clinical services together under one mission. Explore our programs, review our research, or reach out to learn how we can work together toward education and health equity.