Dear Colleagues,
DEAN’ S MESSAGE
Dear Colleagues,
I have witnessed the incredible power of the CDU community in these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all know that this battle is far from over. Last April, we partnered with the Los Angeles County Fire and Health Departments to launch an on-campus testing site for COVID-19, in service to slowing the spread in South Los Angeles. Through the efforts of faculty, staff, residents, students and volunteers, we have administered over 94,000 COVID-19 tests and counting.
Our site was one of the first to document the high rate of positive tests in the south Los Angeles Latinx community. We were the first and only site to offer walk-up testing. By offering same day registration, we were able to serve those without internet access or phones. We demonstrated the impact of effective, culturally competent community outreach in growing the site from 200 to 1,000 tests daily. That effort has led to our testing site becoming one of the most productive sites in the County. COM faculty, Drs. Sheila Young, Jimmy Hara, Ellen Rothman and Roberto Vargas, are due special recognition for this noteworthy service.
COVID-19 has also illuminated an ongoing problem in the U. S., the issue of Social Determinants of Health. As we well know, numerous factors contribute to health care inequity, such as living environment, income level, access to care, and personal mobility. In the attempt to expand coverage and primary care services more broadly, CDU has launched an innovative street medicine initiative.
Family Medicine physician Dr. Amon Rodgers and MPH Program Professor Cynthia Davis are the recipients of funding from CVS / Aetna to provide mobile health services to people experiencing homelessness and those people otherwise unable to come to clinic for services. In partnership with the MLK Outpatient Center, the mobile health services team takes accessible, high-quality health care services literally to the streets of SPA 6.
The pandemic, coupled with the blatant need for the expansion of anti-racism initiatives, has set the stage for better ways to serve American’ s black and brown communities. Studies demonstrate that patients respond better to a treatment recommendation when their physicians are of the same race and ethnicity as they are. In that context, Bloomberg Philanthropies gave a $ 100 million gift to the 4 HBCU medical schools to be distributed according to number of students. The College of Medicine’ s share is $ 7.73 million, the largest single gift in CDU’ s history.
I cannot close out my letter without an update on our work to bring to reality our independent 4-year medical education program( the IMEP). Progress continues on three tracks: preparation for accreditation; planning a new Health Professions Education Building to house the IMEP; and, fundraising.
Please take the time to contribute to our efforts by texting CDUCOM to 443-21 or visiting the CDU website. We need your support and we need to be able to tell others
that you support us.
Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD
DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH AND SCIENCE
CDU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | PG. 02