Global Health Track
Letter from the Global and Refugee Health Director
As the Director of Global and Refugee Health at the University of Rochester/Highland Hospital Family Medicine program, I thank you for your interest in our Global Health program. Welcome to our website that offers a unique pictorial overview of our overseas trips, as well as diverse information regarding both global and refugee health.
The Department of Family Medicine has always been an advocate for the poor and underserved. Many of our graduates work with the underserved both in the US and overseas. Several faculty, medical students, and residents have expressed a strong interest in meeting the health needs of the poor in less developed countries. To meet this need, the Department created a Global Health Track (GHT). Two or more residents in each class can be in the GHT.
In addition to the residency training work, GHT members have a curriculum focusing on global health topics. Each resident spends two to four months overseas expanding skills in international health. The UR Department of Family Medicine has partnered with the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Family Medicine to create a permanent project site in rural Honduras. Throughout their 12 years of work in Honduras, the University of Cincinnati group, known as Shoulder to Shoulder, has created a successful Honduran program and clinic. UR residents and faculty have traveled to Honduras twice each year since 2003. In addition to caring for the underserved in Honduras, we are creating a permanent clinic there.
When not in Honduras, Family Medicine Department residents and faculty get a taste of global health by caring for newly arrived refugees. Rochester has an active refugee resettlement program which resettles up to 700 refugees a year. The Brown Square Community Health Center (Westside) and Lovejoy Family Medicine Center (South Clinton Avenue) sites care for the largest number of refugee patients in Rochester, coming from at least 18 different countries from around the world. It's very rewarding to ease the suffering of so many who haven't been used to receiving health care. Working with refugees helps them start a productive life in a new home while protecting the U.S. population from unusual infectious diseases. One of our current residents had her first health care as a refugee at our Brown Square site and now works there herself.
The Family Medicine Department is excited by these dual initiatives and anticipates their expansion as resources and funding allow.
Sincerely,
Douglas Stockman, MD
Director, Global and Refugee Health
Medical Director, Lovejoy Family Medicine Center
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine