Public Service

UMMS devotes many resources to public service. Its commitment is exemplified by the efforts of its employees, from Chancellor Aaron Lazare's service as chair of the Citizen Task Force on Adoption, to employee contributions to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employee Charitable Campaign (COMECC) that has made UMMS one of the top five leading state agencies to donate to charitable organizations for a number of consecutive years. 

Programs at UMMS also illustrate the institution's commitment to serve the people of the commonwealth. To cite a few: 

• The Office of Community Programs was established to coordinate an extensive community outreach effort on behalf of UMMS, reflecting the University's belief that collaborations within the community make for healthier, more productive neighborhoods. The office oversees the initiatives of the Massachusetts Area Health Education Centers, the New England AIDS Education and Training Center, the Generalist Physician Initiative, the Worcester Latino Coalition, the MassHealth Access Program and the Next Step Program. 
• The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health , one of UMMS' founding educational departments, provides clinical care to communities throughout Massachusetts, including many that are underserved. More than 20 years ago, UMMS was one of the pioneers in establishing a program in which first-year medical students are required to study health problems and health care services by spending two weeks in local communities faced with a variety of challenges. Through the Community Medicine Clerkship, students' understanding of the importance of the community context in health care is realized through firsthand experience. The clerkship trains future doctors to understand and serve the health needs of populations traditionally neglected in medical education, yet which have a major impact on health care costs. At UMMS this academic year, students are focusing on the problems and services that exist for such groups as racial minorities, patients with AIDS, poor families, substance abusers, the elderly, the homeless, the mentally disabled and abused children. 
• Developed and operated by UMMS, Commonwealth Medicine (CM) offers access to an unparalleled depth and breadth of academic, research, management and clinical resources, providing clients with the best of both worlds: the objectivity and big-picture thinking of an outside consultant combined with the wealth of expertise found within an academic health center. CM's programs have been instrumental in assisting Massachusetts' health care agencies increase the value and quality of health care expenditures, and improve access and delivery of care to at-risk and uninsured populations. CM is made up of an array of programs that collaborate with various state and local agencies on health care initiatives. 
• The Office of Science Education (OSE) hosts science programs for students and teachers from many school districts statewide.