MEDICC (Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba) is a
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
founded in 1997 that works to enhance cooperation among the US,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n and
global health
Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...
communities through its programs.
MEDICC supports education and development of
human resources
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
in health committed to equitable access and quality care, providing the Cuban experience to inform global debate, practice, policies and cooperation in
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
.
History
MEDICC was founded in 1997 as a way to foster communication and cooperation between the US and Cuban medical/public health communities, within the context of promoting health equity by “mining” the Cuban experience.
During the 1997–2004 period, MEDICC built a program around the medical and
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
schools in the two countries, allowing the partnership to generate a range of new activities for students and staff: research, teaching, clinical practice, and health policy. Elective courses in Cuba for US medical, public health and nursing students constituted MEDICC’s core program for several years. An Academic Council was established to oversee course content, made up of an equal number of US and Cuban medical educators.
By 2004, nearly 1,000 students from some 125 US medical, nursing, and public health schools had traveled to Cuba to take these two to eight-week courses—mainly placing students with family physicians throughout the island. A number of faculty members and health professionals also traveled to Cuba to research the country’s health system model. In 2004, when the administration of George W. Bush curtailed student travel to Cuba, MEDICC was forced to eliminate the student exchange and other student-faculty travel programs.
Current work
MEDICC Review
''MEDICC Review: International Journal of Cuban Health and Medicine'' is a quarterly
peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
journal, which publishes original scientific articles by Cuban and international medical and
population health
Population health has been defined as "the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group". It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population. It ha ...
scientists, features, interviews and opinion pieces. Its international Editorial Board is composed of nearly 40 health and medical professionals from 13 countries in the Americas, Europe and Africa. ''MEDICC Review'' is available online (open access to developing country readers), and in print. Cuba Health Reports, its companion news service, is available free of charge, and includes weekly health news briefs from Cuba, plus stories written by ''MEDICC Review'' journalists in Cuba, and based on
primary source
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...
Henry Hampton
Henry Eugene Hampton Jr. (8 January 1940 – 22 November 1998) was an African-American filmmaker. His production company, Blackside, Inc., produced over 80 programs—the most recognizable being the documentary ''Eyes on the Prize,'' which won ...
Award (2008) and selected by the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
as an ALA Notable Video, ''¡SALUD!'' is distributed in the United States and internationally by MEDICC.
This feature film, directed by Academy Award nominee
Connie Field
Connie Field is an American film director known for her work in documentaries.
Her works include ''The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter'' (1980), ''Forever Activists'' (1990), ''Freedom on My Mind'' (1994) and ''Have You Heard from Johannesbur ...
, and produced by Connie Field and Gail Reed, explores the competing values that mark the battle for
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
everywhere. Filmed in Cuba,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, accompanies some of the nearly 30,000 Cuban health professionals serving in over 60 countries. Their stories and those of young medical students in Cuba – now numbering 25,000 from
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
& the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the USA – suggest bold new approaches to making health care a global birthright. The film is available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Former US President,
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
,
Mirta Roses Periago
Mirta Roses Periago is an Argentine epidemiologist who served as Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) from 2003 until 2013.
Education
Roses Periago received a medical degree in 1969 from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Arge ...
, MD, Director,
Pan American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...
(PAHO) and
Paul Farmer
Paul Edward Farmer (October 26, 1959 – February 21, 2022) was an American medical anthropology, medical anthropologist and physician. Farmer held an MD and PhD from Harvard University, where he was a Harvard University Professor, University ...
, MD, founder and Executive VP of
Partners in Health
Partners In Health (PIH) is an international nonprofit public health organization founded in 1987 by Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Jim Yong Kim.
Partners in Health provides healthcare in the poorest areas of ...
have commented upon ''¡SALUD!''.
''¡SALUD!'' was reviewed by Ann Sparanese in Social Responsibilities Round Table Newsletter, American Library Association, June 2008 and Hugh H. Tilson, MD, DrPH,
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
School of Public Health in the ''American Journal of Preventive Medicine'', May 2008.
Professional Bridges to Health
MEDICC supports US health professionals undertaking
field research
Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fie ...
in Cuba by providing them with fellowships, background materials and guidance on research objectives. The organization also works to identify opportunities for these professionals to publish their research findings.
MEDICC provides fellowships to Cuban health professionals to study and attend conferences in the US, enabling them to engage in continuing medical education and dialogue with specialists in their fields.
The Community Partnerships for Health Equity program
The Community Partnerships for Health Equity program, formerly the Faculty-Community Leadership Program promotes US university-community partnerships that explore the relevance of the Cuban experience to confronting health issues that challenge their local communities. MEDICC serves as a consultant to these groups, which have been established thus far in Los Angeles and
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
Literature for Cuban Medical Schools
MEDICC provides the Cuban National
Medical Library
A health or medical library is designed to assist physicians, health professionals, students, patients, consumers, medical researchers, and information specialists in finding health and scientific information to improve, update, assess, or evalu ...
with subscriptions to 40 print journals; and, in cooperation with the World Health Organization's HINARI program and EBSCO 6,200 on-line journals for professionals and students island-wide.
MEDICC has donated 6,000 latest-edition textbooks to all 23 Cuban schools of
medical science
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
, where international and Cuban students study medicine, nursing and
allied health professions
Allied health professions are health care professions distinct from optometry, dentistry, nursing, medicine, and pharmacy. They provide a range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic, and support services in connection with health care.
Definitio ...
. These books, in basic sciences and 55 clinical fields, help ensure that current medical thinking informs teaching on these campuses.
MEDICC is an official supporting organization of HIFA2015 (Healthcare Information For All by 2015).
Backpack Library for New MDs
Support for International Medical Students & Graduates at th Latin American Medical School (ELAM) enhances the impact of Cuban medical training for students from developing countries by helping the graduates to successfully re-integrate into their country’s health system environments and workforces.
Every year, MEDICC issues ''The Merck Manual'' and, jointly with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), PAHO’s ''Control of Communicable Diseases'' to 1,500 graduates of the Latin American Medical School from nearly 30 countries. The books also go to the top 300 Cuban medical graduates. These books serve as key references for these new physicians, many of them heading out to practice in the most remote regions of their countries.
US medical students in Cuba
MEDICC also provides support to the nearly 100
low-income
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
and minority students from the United States, enrolled in Havana’s Latin American Medical School. Like students from the other 28 countries represented at the school, US students, in exchange for a full scholarship, pledge to return to practice in underserved communities throughout the US. MEDICC aims to aid graduates by offering the Mnisi Fellowship which covers the cost of the US medical boards and preparatory courses for the exam. The program bears the name o Dr.Thabo Mnisi a South African physician trained in Cuba who dedicated his life to health equity for his community and patients, and directed the well-known Alexandra Clinic in Johannesburg until his death in 2006.
In addition to offering the fellowship to qualified American graduates of the ELAM, MEDICC supports the students by offering advice and information about summer volunteer opportunities in US medical facilities, providing recommendations and support for residency placement, and issuing updated materials about the Latin American Medical School to US residency directors.
Honduras’ First Garifuna Hospital
More students from Honduras’
Garifuna
The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...
indigenous communities are enrolled in the Latin American Medical School than have studied medicine in the entire history of their country. The first students graduated in 2005 and immediately went to work building the first Garifuna hospital in Honduras. The facility, which provides medical staff and hospital beds for rural patients, serves as a local model for providing health care in outlying areas where permanent Honduran medical staff and beds are rare. MEDICC has joined California labor unions and other US
nongovernmental organizations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
in supporting this project. In December 2007, MEDICC staff joined recently graduated Garifuna physicians, Cuban doctors, the local community and other US delegates to the opening of the hospital in Ciriboya, Honduras.
South African Medical Students in Cuba
South African physicians-in-training in Cuba have the advantage of cultural affinity with their future patients: like most of the international medical students in Cuba, these young people come from the poor communities they’ll return to serve. And the language of their medical training—Spanish—also gives them an extra tool for communicating across borders.
Despite these language and cultural competencies, re-entry into the traditionally English-based medical hierarchy in their country presents a challenge. MEDICC supports these students by providing them with medical language CDs and texts in English that will sustain their self-confidence and make it easier for them to find suitable medical positions when they return home.
Haitian medical students in Cuba
Haitian medical students in Cuba—number some 700—study at the Santiago de Cuba “Caribbean campus” of the Latin American Medical School. After training in Cuba they are required to return home and serve in their own country which is the poorest in the hemisphere. For these students, Creole is their native language and the language of their patients; Spanish is the language of their medical instruction; and to date, French is the language of medicine in Haiti. A comprehensive glossary of 4,000 medical terms in French, Spanish and Creole was produced by MEDICC to aid the transition of these students back to Haiti where they will be practicing medicine. After the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, English was added to the glossary, in collaboration with the Hesperian Foundation, as a means of supporting international teams of healthcare workers in Haiti.
After the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti, 400+ Haitian ELAM graduates worked with Cuban medical personnel to meet immediate emergency medical needs. Long-term, the Haitian doctors are part of a mission partnered with the health ministry, Cuban physicians and other cooperating organizations to build a stable health system in Haiti.
Publications
Writings and Broadcasts by MEDICC Board, Staff & Scholars
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...
,
CRC Press
The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information tec ...
Writings by MEDICC's Professional Bridges Participants
'UCSF Faculty Get Insiders' Look at Cuban Health Care System''—Robin Hindery, ''UCSF Today'', January 2009
* ''Medical Education & Health Equity: An Opportunity for the New Administration''—Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, Professor of Pediatrics,
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, Washington DC, ''Health Affairs, The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere'', December 2008
'Integrating health and human security into foreign policy: Cuba's Surprisng Success''—Robert Huish and Jerry Spiegel, ''The International Journal of Cuban Studies'', Volum 1,
Issue 1 {{no references, date=July 2015
Issue 1 is an expression which refers to the first issue of a publication such as a magazine, comic, or e-zine, and is also used to denote the initial direction or output of creativity.
Issue 1s are often sought for ...
, June 2008
''Can Lessons Learned from a Cuban Experience Improve Health Disparities in South Los Angeles?''—Fred Dominguez, MD, MPH & Alex N. Ortega, PhD, ''Ethnicity & Disease'', Volume 18, Spring 2008
"Going where no doctor has gone before: the role of Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine in meeting the needs of some of the world's most vulnerable populations"—Robert Huish, PhD, ''Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Health'', 2008 Jun;122(6):552-7. Epub 2008 May 7
* "Disaster Preparedness: My Lessons Learned from Cuba"—Amelia Muccio, Director of Disaster Planning, New Jersey Primary care, Primary Care Association, Hamilton, New Jersey, ''NJPCA & NJSORH Quarterly Newsletter'', Winter 2008
"Cuban Medical Internationalism (politics), Internationalism and the Development of the Latin American School of Medicine"—Robert Huish and John M. Kirk (2007), ''Latin American Perspectives'', 34; 77
* "Lessons from the Cuban Healthcare and
Medical Education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...
Systems"—Theodore C. Friedman, MD,
Associate Professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
of Medicine-UCLA School of Medicine,
Charles R. Drew
Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to devel ...
University of Medicine and Science,
The Charles
The Charles is a building on the Upper East Side in New York City.
Location
It is located at 1353-1355 1st Avenue on the Upper East Side, in New York City.
History
In 2007, R. Ramin Kamfar, the chief executive of Bluerock Real Estate, purchase ...
R. Drew The RCMI-faculty Development Core, July 2007
"International Health Diplomacy: Examining the Cuban Model"—Jessica Evert, MD and Thomas Novotny, MD,
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
School of Medicine, April 2007
"Correspondence from Abroad: The Cuban Paradox"—Susan E. Birch MBA, RN & Linda Norlander MS, RN AJN, ''American Journal of Nursing'', Volume 107 Number 3, March 2007
"The Cuban Health Care System"—Matthew Anderson, MD, MSc, Professor Family & Social Medicine,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...
,
Bronx, NY
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Yor ...
. ''The Social Medicine Portal'', January 2006
"Change in Cuban Social work, Social Work Education: Government Response to Emerging Societal Problems"—David L. Strug, PH.D, Professor, Social Work, Wurzweiler School of Social Work,
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU on the Yeshiva Universit ...
, ''Cuba Today: Continuity and Change since the "Periodico Especial"'' Bildner Center for Hemisphere Studies, The Graduate Center, CUNY, October 2004.