The University of Chicago Medicine health system and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine have been recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for their commitment to identifying and addressing community needs through engagement, partnership and collaboration.
The AAMC has awarded the Chicago organization the 2024 Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Engagement for prioritizing community engagement, particularly through medical education, research and clinical care.
“By integrating community engagement into every aspect of medical education, research and clinical care, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and UChicago Medicine have demonstrated a deep commitment to improving the health and well-being of all people who call Chicago’s South Side home,” the AAMC said in its announcement.
“Through our mission, vision and values and across all of our strategic initiatives, UChicago Medicine and the Pritzker School of Medicine are committed to advancing health equity within the communities we serve,” Mark Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the Division of Biological Sciences and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, said in a statement. “We are deeply honored by this recognition from the AAMC, which reflects the values and strength of everyone in our organization and the partnerships that help inform and shape how we engage with the community.”
Medical students learn about health disparities and social determinants of health through courses and volunteer work at six free student-run clinics and a street medicine outreach program. They also get directly involved by participating in programs like Medical Careers Exposure and Emergency Preparedness, which exposes historically underrepresented youth to careers in medicine and has trained more than 7,000 people in emergency preparedness since 2018.
Earlier this year, the Pritzker School of Medicine launched The Phoenix Curriculum, an updated educational framework designed to empower students to serve as patient advocates by incorporating self-directed learning, research, clinical experience and community engagement from day one.
At the graduate medical education level, residents from a variety of specialties collaborate with community members to address health needs through the Community Champions graduate medical education program, in partnership with the Urban Health Initiative, UChicago Medicine’s community health division that works to improve health equity for more than 880,000 residents of Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs. Now in its fourth year, the Community Champions program annually trains approximately 30 residents from 12 departments to work in communities facing a disproportionate burden of chronic and serious illness and high rates of intentional violence.
“Receiving this award validates our efforts to ensure that our outreach programs and initiatives in medical education and clinical care prioritize health equity and reflect a commitment to serving our diverse communities,” Vineet Arora, MD, dean of Medical Education, said in a statement. “We are inspired to continue this important work with and for the community and to encourage the next generation of health professionals to grow as leaders and advocates for health equity.”
As a founding member of the South Side Healthy Community Organization, a collective and coordinated network of 13 local health care organizations that include safety net hospitals, health systems and federally qualified health centers, UChicago Medicine uses its resources to better connect existing health care organizations, increase access to care and improve health outcomes for South Side residents.
The AAMC Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Engagement was renamed in 2007 to honor Spencer “Spike” Foreman, MD, who established the award in 1993 while serving as president of the AAMC.
Founded in 1876, the AAMC represents 171 accredited medical schools in the United States and Canada, more than 400 teaching hospitals and health systems, and more than 70 academic societies. Its mission is to transform health through medical education, care delivery, medical research, and community collaborations.
