The Chicago School is forging connections and creating new enrichment opportunities for students by expanding partnerships with organizations and institutions at a local, state, national, and international level. This emphasis on community outreach reflects a vital part of the mission to expand access to health care services for all.
The Chicago School proudly serves a large percentage of Latino students, and these partnerships are just some of the latest developments in ongoing initiatives to cultivate connections with the Latino community.“
We are inspired to build an environment of mutual respect and inclusion that promotes cultural awareness, competence, and understanding of diversity,” says John Macfie, campus director at The Chicago School’s San Diego Campus.
The Chicago School’s partnership with Latino Health Access (LHA), based in Santa Ana, California, is supported through existing grant funds from the Orange County Social Services Agency. The successful collaboration leverages the strengths of both organizations to provide educational workshops to strengthen individual and family mental health. The partnership also supports healthier communities through culturally competent and collaborative programming.
According to Macfie, the partnership is an ideal pairing of resources. “LHA has professional staff who are working to provide training opportunities for other health care professionals to strengthen their skill sets and develop practices aimed more closely at supporting the needs of diverse individuals and families,” he says. “The Chicago School boasts an exceptional faculty team with similar values and goals who provide additional expertise and training services to drive the initiative of LHA.”
The Chicago School also has established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of Guadalajara (UDG) and the University of Guadalajara Foundation, USA to promote academic, scientific, and cultural collaborations.
Denise Diaz, director of public affairs, explains, “UDG has a strong footprint in L.A., doing seminars, workshops, and similar educational events. One of our specific hopes in working with them is to focus on mental illness and reducing the stigma surrounding it in the Latino community.”
Under the MOU, The Chicago School and UDG will create student and academic staff exchange programs, as well as joint research projects and virtual cooperation programs. “We want to forge closer relationships with the Latino community and grow the base of our students,” Diaz says. “The goal is to train more culturally competent and multilingual health professionals [to connect] with the communities where the campuses are located.”
According to Diaz, future plans for further partnership expansion include programs to recruit and train professionals and fundraising opportunities including scholarships that will help students manage their debt and remain close to their communities. “We will continue to seek out community partners and devise initiatives that align with The Chicago’s School’s commitment to service and embracing the diverse communities of our society,” says Macfie.
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