How will these changes affect the Medical Centers commitment to the Urban Health Initiative?
The economic downturn and UCMC’s response to it make the Urban Health Initiative more important than ever. The UHI is a long-term commitment by UCMC to improve the health status of the surrounding community through collaboration. It is designed to improve access to quality healthcare by finding a “medical home” for patients, a place where they can establish a lasting primary care relationship. It includes the South Side Health Collaborative, which helps emergency room patients with non-urgent conditions establish an ongoing relationship with a community health center or physician. It also includes grants to community healthcare providers to help them serve more patients and partnerships with community hospitals to provide care for patients with less severe illness. This enhances the capacity of UCMC to perform leading-edge clinical research and innovative treatment that it is uniquely positioned to offer.
