Drew University Focuses on Latino Community
In an effort to increase participation and support from the Latino community, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is seeking support from Latino community leaders, the Los Angeles Times reports. The university last month appointed a third Latino board member and established a Latino advisory committee.
Drew University President Susan Kelly says the South Los Angeles school needs to "reinvent itself" in order to address the health care needs of the poor in areas where demographics have changed.
The new advisory committee -- Latino Leadership Roundtable -- consists of 30 Latino civic and business leaders. The committee has already compiled an agenda, including:
- Raising money for Latino scholarships;
- Sponsoring cancer research; and
- Establishing a Spanish language and cultural center on campus.
The new board member, Martha Valverde, owns MediFam, an organization that provides health care access to low-income families and individuals in Los Angeles. Valverde said that she would like the university to expand health care to uninsured families using state and federal funds.
University officials in November voted to temporarily close the school's residency program while it rebuilds and finds a new affiliate teaching hospital. The school aims to re-establish its residency program by 2008. The university lost its national accreditation because its affiliate hospital -- Martin Luther King Jr./Drew University Medical Center -- failed a federal inspection and will lose its Medicare funding (Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 12/16). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.