NY Presbyterian Hospital Launches Science Education for Teens

NewYork Presbyterian Hospital has joined forces with philanthropist Eugene M. Lang to create a pilot program designed to both foster academic success for low-income neighborhood youth and to facilitate their entry into health careers. The Lang Youth Medical Program at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, funded by a $1.25 million grant from the Eugene M. Lang Foundation, will serve as a model for healthcare institutions nationwide to provide an opportunity for inner-city children to participate in a health sciences education program.

Through this collaborative effort, each year 15 seventh-grade New York City public school students who exhibit academic promise are selected to enter a six-year program to inspire them to develop and pursue career and life goals, particularly in medicine, nursing, healthcare, and the sciences. The students, known as the Lang Youth Medical Team, will undertake a year-round medical and health-oriented educational and service curriculum at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center campus in Washington Heights.

Each student will participate in the program from seventh through 12th grades. Those who successfully complete the program and graduate from high school will receive scholarships support for college. “Young people are the future of health care and the future of our city. Through this program and the generosity of Eugene Lang, we will be able to impact the lives of these students and our community in a positive way, says Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and chief executive officer of the NewYork Presbyterian Healthcare System.

Students and faculty from all of the Health Sciences schools and others at Columbia University will participate in the mentoring program. The program curriculum is designed to provide an educational experience calibrated to the progression of the students’ teenage years. Through their participation in the year-round program, students will be exposed to a wide variety of clinical and scientific activities and objectives. Mentoring and teaching relationships with medical students, residents, faculty, staff, and administration will help foster students’ ambitions and self-esteem, and develop an appreciation of the meaning of sustained commitment and responsibility.

Students will attend a brief orientation session during the summer preceding seventh grade and then will meet on Saturdays and participate in a four-week summer program. The first three years of the program are designed to develop a basic understanding oý the life sciences and to familiarize students with Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and its role in the community. They will have the opportunity to act as liaisons between the Hospital and the community, and to engage in community outreach and education projects. The final three years of the program will focus on students’ individual interests and provide opportunities for meaningful employment, including research work with Hospital faculty.#

Name:- E-mail: City: State: Comments:

Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919.Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2003.