SUNY Downstate Chosen for National Initiative to Strengthen Health of Urban Communities
Oct 19, 2012
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University has been selected as one of five institutions
to participate in Urban Universities for HEALTH (Health Equity through Alignment,
Leadership, and Transformation of the Healthcare Workforce), a national initiative
that aims to improve the health of urban communities by developing their health workforce.
Urban Universities for HEALTH is a collaborative program of the Association of American
Medical Colleges, the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities/Association of Public
and Land-grant Universities, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health
Disparities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This joint project will identify strategies to create a diverse, well-prepared workforce
capable of improving urban health and meeting demands for new delivery systems that
ensure quality care for all. The five institutions will work to improve data on health
workforce needs, build institutional capacity, and identify metrics for workforce
goals to enhance urban health equity. The knowledge gained will be applied to a larger
constituency of higher education institutions.
“SUNY Downstate has a demonstrated commitment to improving urban health through specialized
education, research, and clinical care programs, and we are so pleased that SUNY can
be a part of this exciting national initiative,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher.
“Downstate’s record in training students who are historically underrepresented in
medicine and other health sciences is outstanding,” said John F. Williams, MD, EdD,
MPH, FCCM, president of SUNY Downstate. “The Urban Universities for HEALTH initiative
complements Downstate’s existing efforts to reduce disparities in healthcare delivery
in urban communities.”
Ian L. Taylor, MD, PhD, senior vice president for biomedical education and research
and dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate, will lead this effort at Downstate
as principal investigator. In addition to Downstate, the schools involved are Cleveland
State University/Northeast Ohio Medical University, the University of Cincinnati,
the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and the University of New Mexico. To conduct
the project, Downstate will receive $428,400 over four years.
SUNY Downstate is in the top decile of all American medical schools in the number
of African-American students and in the percentage of underrepresented minority full-time
faculty. Working with the NIH-supported Brooklyn Health Disparities Center and the
Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, Downstate maintains educational pipeline programs
and innovative community partnerships to increase opportunities for qualified students
to enter the health professions. The goal is to generate healthcare professionals
who reflect the diversity of Brooklyn and New York City and have the skills and cultural
competency to serve numerous New York communities.
The Downstate Urban Universities for HEALTH initiative is fully supported by the SUNY
system-wide strategic plan project, The Right Health Professionals in the Right Places
(RP2). The program also draws on the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University
at Albany. The initiative will allow Downstate to improve program outcomes through
better data analysis and enable the broader RP2 project to use Downstate as a model
in programs to increase diversity and reduce disparities throughout the SUNY system.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in
the United States, educating more than 465,000 students in more than 7,500 degree
and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe.
To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.
###
About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.