Community Service
The School of Medicine's most important mission continues to remain the same after nearly two centuries: that of educating physicians to meet the health care needs of the people of Maryland and beyond. The School of Medicine is a vital part of the West Baltimore neighborhood in which it resides, and its faculty, staff and students are increasingly involved in activities that bring a better quality of life to its neighbors.
Each year, School of Medicine students provide hundreds of thousands of hours of service in hospitals, clinics, homeless shelters and schools throughout the state.
Program involvement includes
- S.T.O.P. AIDS-Student/Teacher Outreach Program: sends volunteer students into Baltimore City Public Schools to discuss HIV prevention. Thousands of West Baltimore elementary and middle school students have been taught about the disease's medical and social implications.
- Domestic Violence Workshop: student volunteers sponsor a workshop that creates a heightened awareness of this complex problem and teaches future physicians how to spot the sometimes subtle signs of abuse.
- Health Care and the Homeless Project: allows students to spend time at shelters such as South Baltimore Station, providing health care screening and education.
Faculty members provide countless uncompensated hours of primary and preventive care to the residents of Baltimore through programs such as:
- Baltimore Alliance for the Prevention and Control of Hypertension and Diabetes: brings all of the resources of the University of Maryland physician community together to promote accessible, comprehensive hypertension and diabetes education, prevention and treatment strategies within the Baltimore community, with emphasis on the underserved.
- Focus on Kids: a community/university partnership that addresses the many issues - including HIV, drug use and violence - facing pre-adolescents and adolescents.
- Paquin Family Health Center: a school-based health center at Paquin High School, Baltimore City's school for pregnant young women and teen mothers. Primary, pre- and post-natal care and psychosocial support are provided for mother and child.