About Us

Who We Are

Our Story

Student Healthcare Investment Partners (SHIPs) is a non-profit organization of under-privileged high achieving minority pre-health students working with under-served communities to overcome social adversities. We are dedicated to providing assistance and mentor ship to accommodate these challenges which include lack of educational, nutritional, and mental resources.

Josina R O'Connell, M.D.

Teresa O'Connell

Our Approach

Our Impact

The SHIPs organization aims to connect university students with our community. Over the last few years, we have made it our goal to connect and build a trusting relationship with young students in the schools of our community. We create these relationships by providing resources that these communities lack and understanding what goals and specific needs they have. These resources we provide include student tutoring, community gardens, and a food pantry. We hope that these relationships with the school and community will build a sustainable project that can spark inspiration across other communities.

As the development of COVID-19 sparked challenges in various forms for millions of families across the state, we’ve seen a larger need to provide resources to the underserved families in our community. We continue to listen to the folks in our community and aim to better understand the needs of the students in our community. With reports from the school principal and teachers that students are facing obstacles with e-learning, food insecurity, and even domestic violence, we strive to provide one less thing for the families in our communities to worry about.

— Our Mission

Student Healthcare Investment Partners (SHIPs) work to address healthcare inequity, inequality, and disparity by addressing social determinants of health uniquely by community to advance population health and wellness.

— Our Vision

For undergraduate students to provide heartfelt and professional support to the most marginalized communities in Colorado, whose communities are defined by their elementary school constituency, and their needs narrated by school faculty, parents, and their invested community leaders.