BOSTON, November 6, 2004 - In recognition of its institutional commitment to community service and to improving the health of upstate New York's most disadvantaged residents, the University of Rochester Medical Center has been awarded the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The award was presented tonight, in Boston, at a special ceremony during the Annual Meeting of the AAMC.

The national Outstanding Community Service Award, established in 1993, recognizes one medical school for exceptional community service programs in communities whose needs are not being met through the traditional healthcare delivery system. The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) was selected not only for its numerous community health programs, but also for the commitment it has made to educate and train caring and culturally competent physicians by weaving community service into its curriculum.

URMC is the major provider of primary care for Rochester, New York, and serves as the major referral center for the western and central areas of the state. The school was founded with the hope of creating in Rochester "one of the healthiest communities in the world." The URMC philosophy--that a healthy community is more than just the absence of disease--is shared by the medical center's 400 medical students and 400 graduate, public health, and doctoral students.

The leadership of URMC has formed partnerships with city, county and community officials to create a plan for a healthier community. Particular attention is focused on eliminating disparities in health care among the most disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups in their community - the urban Hispanic and African-American residents of Rochester. Medical school faculty and staff now align the medical center's research, education and patient care efforts with community-based needs. Faculty members from at least 20 medical center departments help to manage more than 70 community service programs and interventions each year. URMC has an additional 150 community-based research projects ongoing in fields such as population-based research, health outcomes, ethics, and health policy.

The community service mission is completely integrated into every level of the medical school curriculum. The Community Health Improvement Clerkship, for example, is a unique service-based patient care experience required of all fourth-year medical students. Students who complete an additional 40 hours of community service each year, beyond the requirements of the clerkship, receive a "distinction in community service" honor on their medical diploma. The institution's emphasis on service is integrated into residency training at URMC as well. The Pediatric Links with the Community Program, a partnership with community-based agencies that serve children and families, is a formal component of the pediatric residency experience that trains new physicians to care and advocate for underserved and high-risk youth and families.

Some examples of the medical center's community involvement are:

Health-e-Access
Urban children in inner-city Rochester are three to five times more likely to seek emergency room care for complications from asthma, bronchitis, and gastroenteritis/dehydration than suburban children. Health care access issues may play a role in preventing these children from getting care before it becomes an emergency. The URMC Department of Pediatrics developed Health-e-Access - through the use of technology - to help the working poor get easy access to the care they need for their children. The program places tele-health units in inner city childcare centers, allowing trained assistants to examine children with special equipment and send the imagery to nurse practitioners at URMC for diagnoses, treatment, and follow-up visits. Since it began in 2001, clinicians have completed almost 1,400 tele-visits. The program has eased the burden of working parents, decreased the number of school absences due to illness, and helped to avoid emergency room visits.

Lazos Fuertes
The suicide and alcohol abuse rates in the Hispanic population of Rochester are three times higher than in the rest of the community, and Hispanics receive fewer mental health services due to geographical and language barriers. To address the need for access to mental health services in this particular community, and to train bi-lingual medical students and residents, the URMC Department of Psychiatry partnered with the area's largest Hispanic advocacy organization to create Lazos Fuertes (Strong Ties). The program delivers behavioral and mental health services to more than 300 patients a year.

Jay/Orchard Street Neighborhood Programs
The medical center has created a unique partnership with the Jay/Orchard Street neighborhood, an impoverished area in the city of Rochester. Medical center staff members are working to combat barriers to access, poor health outcomes and lack of health education faced by the residents. URMC faculty and volunteers, including many medical students, are making progress toward eliminating the hazards of lead poisoning that have plagued the Jay/Orchard neighborhood for years.

University of Rochester Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and Dentistry, the School of Nursing, the Eastman Dental Center, Strong Memorial Hospital, Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong, Highland Hospital, adult nursing facilities and a visiting nursing service.

Medical schools and teaching hospitals provide health care resources to the more than 70 million uninsured and underinsured Americans. For more information about the role medical schools and teaching hospitals play in caring for the uninsured, visit www.aamc.org/uninsured.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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