Center for Urban Health

Directed by Drs. Plumb and Brawer, Department of Family and Community Medicine Faculty, the Center for Urban Health (CUH)’s mission is to improve the health and well being of Philadelphia citizens throughout the lifespan by marshalling the resources of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Thomas Jefferson University and its Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM), and partnering with community organizations and neighborhoods. The Center’s goal is to improve the health status of individuals and targeted communities and neighborhoods through a multi-faceted initiative, the ARCHES Project, which focuses on six domains/themes: Access and Advocacy; Research, Evaluation, and Outcomes Measurement; Community Partnerships and Outreach; Health Education, Screening and Prevention Programs; Education of Health Professions Students and Providers; and Service Delivery Systems Innovation.  

Through the ARCHES Project, the Center’s partners range from schools, homeless shelters, senior centers, faith-based communities and other broad-based efforts that recognize neighborhood economic, social, and physical environments as underlying determinants of health and disease. In addition, the Center undertakes more extensive assessments in partnership with community-based organizations to create programs that reflect community need, voice and culture. Projects are planned and evaluated individually based on established baselines set from existing data, key informants, focus groups and new surveys conducted that address critical attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and community assets/resources such as human, economic and social capital.  

Specifically, the Center for Urban Health:

1. Serves as a bridge between Thomas Jefferson University/Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (Jefferson Health) and urban neighborhoods, facilitating understanding and information sharing so as to improve health outcomes;
2. Facilitates collaborations between the University/Jefferson Health and urban neighborhoods around research, community projects, program planning/implementation and evaluation.
3. Improves the understandings of the University/Jefferson Health as they relate to the health needs and aspirations of the community; and concurrently, to improve the understandings of the community as to the work that the University/Hospitals does that has the promise of improving the health and wellbeing of the community.
4. Strengthens the capacity of the Philadelphia neighborhoods by bringing the knowledge and skills available through the University/Jefferson Health to community identified needs and issues;
5. Strengthens the academic offerings and opportunities within Jefferson as they relate to urban health and development;
6. Initiates and monitors sustainable, collaborative interventions that will improve the health and well-being of Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Key initiatives of the ARCHES Project include care for homeless men, women and children; breast health education and referral to Jefferson’s low cost mammography screening program for sheltered women; diabetes self management education and support groups reaching 1,500 adults; development of a Diabetes Photonovel reaching 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Pennsylvania; community collaboration addressing policy and systems change related to obesity and access to fresh fruits and vegetables and safe places to be active; application of the chronic care model to obesity management in primary care practices reaching 900 individuals; obesity and diabetes prevention in a workforce development program; cardiovascular health literacy in regional health systems; and hypertension, stroke and prostate cancer education reaching 9,000 African American men; a cardiovascular risk reduction screening program in Corner Stores reaching underserved neighborhoods with screening, education and follow-up; and lipid and glucose community-based screening and education. 

Bridging the Gaps (BTG) - BTG includes the Community Health Internship Program (BTG CHIP) as well as two additional components in Philadelphia: the BTG Seminar Series and the BTG Clinical Program. Each academic year, students representing health and social service disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, creative arts in therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacology, public health, law, physician assistant, and related fields, take part in BTG.

JeffHOPE - Established in 1992, JeffHOPE (Health Opportunities, Prevention and Education) of Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest and most robust Student-Run Clinics (SRCs) in the country. It operates 5 weekly clinics at 6 locations throughout Philadelphia, sees over 2000 patient visits annually, and has a staff of over 600 medical student volunteers, 50 faculty and resident volunteers.

Refugee Health Partners - The goal of the Refugee Health Partners is to improve and advocate for the health and well-being of refugees living in Philadelphia. Over the past two years, Refugee Health Partners has initiated yearly community outreach programs including flu clinics, health fairs, English as a Second Language and health education classes, picnics with refugee communities, and adopt-a-refugee