For the second year in a row, the Miller School is among three finalists for the Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service. This is the third time the Miller School's longstanding commitments to community service and compassionate health care for all patients have garnered the attention of the awarding body, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which bestowed the inaugural award on the University in 1993.

Last week, representatives from the AAMC conducted a site visit to the Miller School and met with leadership, faculty, staff and students to learn more about the extraordinary community programs, many which serve patients free of charge, and the large-scale international efforts, such as the medical school's unparalleled rapid response to Haiti after the January 12 earthquake.

"In this region, and even nationally, the Miller School has set the bar for community service at such a high level because we have made outreach to our neighbors a part of our daily lives," said Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., who hosted a welcome breakfast then led several of the site visit meetings. "Whether our students are staffing one of their many health fairs in South Florida, or our doctors are rushing to save lives in Port-au-Prince, delivering the best care is always our top priority. We are honored the AAMC is again recognizing the work we undertake to improve the lives of our human fellows."

The AAMC presents the Spencer Foreman Award annually to a U.S. member institution or organization with a major, longstanding institutional commitment to addressing community needs. Rather than concentrating on any single program, the extremely competitive award recognizes an institution's broad-based and consistent efforts to reach and effectively bring health care and wellness to populations that often have limited access to quality care.

The site visitors' busy schedule on Wednesday included meetings where they heard about the Miller School's decades-long public-private partnership with Jackson Memorial Hospital to deliver quality health care to thousands of patients regardless of their ability to pay. They also met with faculty and students who run various community outreach programs, such as the mobile pediatric and mammography units, the minority student health career motivation program, and research initiatives to address social service needs.

The meetings also highlighted UM's disaster relief response in Haiti and the continuing work of the on-campus Haiti Relief Command Center, the UM Global Institute for Community Health and Development, the Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity, and the numerous health fairs and clinics operated by the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Services (DOCS).

DOCS is among the premier examples of Miller School initiatives that promote both service and learning. Although DOCS was christened with it formal moniker in 2000, students began extending medical outreach to communities in the Florida Keys four decades ago. Today, DOCS operates several free health fairs and clinics throughout South Florida throughout the year, providing crucial health screenings and education for about 2,000 patients annually.

At the conclusion of the site visit, Robert L. Hernandez, M.D., senior associate dean for medical student administration, found it difficult to describe the depth and breadth of emotions he witnessed and felt while listening to the personal stories that were conveyed throughout the day.

"At the core of those emotions was a deep sense of pride in this institution and a profound respect for the wonderful accomplishments of the many individuals who have made and continue to make a lasting positive impact on the world around us,'' Hernandez said. "It is obvious to me that what separates UM from other medical schools is that our service mission serves as the foundation upon which our other three missions, education, clinical care and research, rest."

In addition to Dean Goldschmidt and Dr. Hernandez, the Miller School host team included Laurence Gardner, M.D., executive dean for education and policy; Alex Mechaber, M.D., senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education; Steven Lipshultz, M.D., chair of pediatrics and associate executive dean for child health; and students Rachel Russo, a member of the Organization of Student Representatives, and Joshua Moore, student government president.

Moore said the meetings afforded the Miller School, which was recently ranked the 25th best medical school at meeting its social mission in a study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine, "a platform to tell part of our very impressive story."

"We take very seriously our mission of service to our local community as well as our international neighbors," Moore said. "It was an absolute honor to be one of the students representing the University as we are considered for such an outstanding service award."

The AAMC will announce the winner within a few weeks.