Community outreach and engagement with the community we serve demonstrate CHAM’s commitment to addressing social determinants of health and meeting the social needs of children and their families. This is integral to optimizing the health, growth, and development of the children in our care. Residents and faculty at CHAM and throughout the Montefiore Health Care system are involved in outreach and engagement activities.
School Health Program
Residents participate in Montefiore’s School Health Program during their second and third years of residency. The program provides comprehensive primary, preventative and continuing health care to a population of elementary, middle and high school students in the Bronx. Founded in 1983, MSHP is the largest and most comprehensive school-based health program in the country.
COVID-19 Community Outreach
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, our Bronx community was disproportionately affected. The CHAM residents and PAs collaborated with local organizations, BronxWorks and Part of the Solution (POTS), to help provide essential and critical needs of our community, fundraising to support these organizations and leading a food and clothing drive to help provide for our families. This outreach has continued throughout the pandemic, as Montefiore focuses on educating the public about COVID-19 vaccination and has numerous sites where they administer the vaccines.
Montefiore’s COVID-19 Infant Survival Kits
Montefiore strives to be in tune with the practical needs of the community it serves. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, it became apparent that many of the families in the Bronx were having difficulty getting essential supplies needed to care for their newborns and infants. A team led by Dr. Miguelina German, from the HealthySteps Program at Montefiore Medical Group and Dr. Suzette Oyeku, from the Division of Academic General Pediatrics sourced donations from multiple people at Montefiore, throughout the Bronx, and the across the country to help our families in need. A multidisciplinary team of pediatricians, psychologists, other healthcare providers administrative staff members and medical students assembled and distributed infant survival skits (diapers, wipers, formula, breast pumps, etc.) to hundreds of families in the Bronx and lower Westchester.
Anti-Racism Work
CHAM is committed to promoting social and racial justice in the Bronx and beyond. On June 5, 2020, CHAM joined the Einstein/Montefiore Offices of Diversity and Inclusion and Diversity Enhancement, the Departments of Medicine, OB-Gyn & Women’s Health, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and healthcare workers around the country in a moment of solidarity and reflection to highlight that structural and systematic racism is a public health crisis and systemic and multidisciplinary approaches are needed to address racism and police violence to ensure health equity for communities of color. Moving forward from that moment Montefiore employees, including faculty and house staff, are encouraged to participate in multidisciplinary Undoing Racism Workshops. Pediatric residents, fellows and faculty continue to develop programs and participate in institutional efforts to dismantle racism of all kinds. We are committed to continue working to improve the health and safety of communities of color and create a diverse and equitable health system.