Thomas will serve as the Center's director. "Our challenge and mission is to find new ways to bring the fruits of health care reform to the underserved, poorly served and never served segments of our community," Thomas said. "We're all in this together, and the people in these communities must be fully engaged as equal partners in establishing a new community-based health infrastructure," he said.
There is a hope that this center can serve as a model for other states, because, as Dean Gold pointed out today, the issue of health equity is not specific to Maryland. "Inequalities of health status in the United States are large, persistent and increasing," he said.
The Center's mission emphasizes the role of community-level research and outreach to reduce health disparities among a highly diverse Maryland population. What is most unique about this center is that its founding members will take positions across three different academic units at SPH: Health Services Administration, Public and Community Health and Family Science. The Center will also draw from expertise from other academic areas on campus, like engineering, urban planning, sociology, public policy and journalism, making this effort truly interdisciplinary.
"This center will extend the School of Public Health's commitment to eliminating health disparities among minorities and underserved populations," President Mote said.
This is true. Here is a list of some of the ongoing initiatives at our school to address health equity issues:
University of Maryland-Prevention Research Center, focusing on reducing health disparities in Maryland along the national capital border.
City of Seat-Pleasant-University of Maryland Health Partnership, working to improve the health of Seat Pleasant residents and enhance the learning and research for students and faculty of the University of Maryland.
Herschel S. Horowitz Health Literacy Center, addressing health literacy and its effect on health outcomes and focuses on closing the health disparities gap.
Cultural Competency in Healthcare initiative, under the direction of Dr. Olivia Carter-Pokras, aggregating cultural competency curricula, information on language services and requirements, self-awareness exercises, key reports on health disparities, interactive Web sites to retrieve data and create tables, related courses, as well as other resources.
Center for Global Health Initiatives, funded by SPH alum and Viking's free safety Madieu Williams, addressing health issues common in both Prince George's County and Sierra Leone.
University of Maryland Summer Training and Research, providing traditionally under-represented undergrad students with research training and career development to enhance their potential to apply for and complete graduate degrees in biomedical and behavioral science relevant to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease.
If you want to read more about the Center, click here. We're excited to watch these programs and the new Center on Health Equity continue to improve the serious issues of inequality in Prince George's County, the state of Maryland, and throughout the country.
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