One year ago, the state of Ohio entered the fight against an unprecedented health crisis. The health care landscape changed dramatically as educators, researchers, and health care providers were forced to shift their priorities to address the emerging needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. From day one, the Ohio Colleges of Medicine were on the frontline of that fight and they continue to help lead the way to a return to life as we once knew it.
Over the past year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has persisted, the Ohio Council of Medical School Deans and the seven Colleges of Medicine put their best minds to work, developing and testing life-saving vaccines. Researchers on the cutting edge of new scientific health care discoveries give affiliated academic medical centers the opportunity to become part of the solution to defeating COVID-19.
As our state faced a summer like no other, where racial injustice took center stage and anxiety gripped our local communities, Ohio’s Colleges of Medicine offered support and resources to students and staff, to help cope with the realities of inequality and inequity in the midst of a pandemic. Discussions about race and racism also brought into sharper focus the impact disparities can have on at-risk populations and provided opportunities to right the wrongs of racial injustice in the classroom and in clinic.
Above all, students, faculty and staff at Ohio’s seven Medical colleges stepped up to care for their local and campus communities, ensuring those most vulnerable to coronavirus had healthy food options, protective face coverings and access to primary and mental health care. All the while, supporting healthcare workers, helping with meals, child and pet care, and other basic services, allowing our healthcare heroes to remain on the frontline saving lives and fighting COVID-19.
Under newly elected leadership, the Ohio Council of Medical School Deans, are beginning to look forward to what comes next when the pandemic is behind us. Newly elected Council Chair, Andrew Filak Jr, M.D. (University of Cincinnati) and Council Vice- Chair, Elizabeth Young, M.D. (NEOMED) are taking steps to address tomorrow’s health needs today.
In the coming year, the Council of Medical School Deans and the academic medical schools they lead, aim to improve clinical teaching and training, in an effort to educate the next generation of physicians who are essential to addressing the health care needs of Ohioans during this health crisis and beyond.
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the value of telehealth services in the healthcare landscape. Ohio’s College of Medicine will push to train physicians and med students in telehealth continuing to make health care more accessible and affordable in rural areas and in medically underserved communities throughout the state.
As Ohio approaches the one year mark in the fight against COVID-19, the Ohio Colleges of Medicine and the Council of Medical School Deans continue to find new and innovative ways to collaborate to address emerging health challenges, share research advancements, and improve access to high quality health care for all Ohioans.
The Council is an alliance of Ohio’s seven medical colleges, working together to improve health outcomes across the state by emphasizing innovation in education and patient care as well as improving access to quality health care for Ohio’s underserved populations.
For more information on the Ohio Council of Medical School Deans and their efforts in helping to lead the frontline fight against COVID-19 please visit http://ohiomedicalschools.org.