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“ … It was fortuitous that our agency was able to rely on these dedicated, dependable and professional individuals (BTG students) for program support. They provided a needed service that staff would not have been able to provide because of the increased demand.”
BTG Community Preceptor
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Welcome to Bridging the Gaps

Bridging the Gaps (BTG) links the training of health and social service professionals with the provision of health-related services for underserved and economically disadvantaged populations.   

BTG includes the Community Health Internship Program (BTG CHIP), in all locations, as well as two additional components in Philadelphia: the BTG Seminar Series and the BTG Clinical Program. Each academic year, students representing health and social service disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, creative arts in therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacology, public health, law, health psychology, and related disciplines take part in BTG.

BTG began in 1991 at one academic health center in Philadelphia. Five years later, all of Philadelphia’s academic health centers had adopted the program. Today, BTG is administered in Philadelphia by the Bridging the Gaps Consortium, which comprises representatives from Drexel University, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Based on the Philadelphia model, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh implemented their own programs and joined with the Consortium to form the Bridging the Gaps Network. In 2007, a network affiliate program was established in New Jersey through the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. During the 2009 program year, the Lehigh Valley Health Network will complete a feasibility year to establish a Lehigh Valley Health Network BTG CHIP program.

Over the years, BTG's work has been recognized locally and nationally by the City of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the American College of Physicians, the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the American Red Cross, and other community-based and corporate entities.

 

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“I learned that although I cannot change the entire system, I could be a part of a hopeful change: one child, one relationship … I learned through BTG that everyone in the health professions is an integral part in serving this community optimally.”
BTG Student Intern