Giving

Transforming Good Intentions into
Good Medicine

University of Houston was founded in 1927 in response to a call from Houston’s business leaders for accessible higher education. The UH College of Medicine is answering another urgent call — graduate medical education to train physicians to treat the underserved.

The College of Medicine completes the UH offering of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. UH now has the stature of a true national institution.

Houston has grown by four million people since the last medical school was founded in 1972. Large areas of Metro Houston—and the entire state of Texas, particularly in rural areas—are suffering from an insufficient number of primary care physicians. We will strengthen the front lines of outcome-based health care with highly-trained physicians for community care.

The College of Medicine will join the University as its 15th academic college, scheduled to admit thirty students in the inaugural class. These doctors will champion primary care and fulfill our state’s and nation’s most pressing needs. UHMed’s partnership with HCA Gulf Coast will provide 250 residencies in Texas so our graduates can continue to work in Texas’s “medical deserts”—urban and rural communities where lack of health care takes a heavy toll.

UH is taking all the right steps—receiving academic authorizations, seeking legislative approval, creating cutting-edge curriculum and completing funding requirements.

Why Primary Care? Prevention is the Cure

While life-saving medical specialists are a vital part of health care, all too often, patients do not seek medical attention until their symptoms are critical. In the best scenario, a patient’s symptoms can be monitored, managed and—optimally—resolved by a primary care physician before specialized treatment is required.

With UH’s proximity to Houston’s most underserved residents, the College of Medicine is strongly positioned to serve the populations most affected by lack of primary care.

Why the University of Houston?

The UH College of Medicine is taking a different approach—creating a medical school that doesn’t focus on elite specialties and instead develops physicians focused on primary care.

Close attention to wellness mirrors the shift from the historic “fee-for-service” model based on volume of treatment to a “value-based-care” in which providers are paid based on health outcomes. UH College of Medicine will also continue to develop world-class resources including:

• Nationally recognized programs in Pharmacy, Optometry, Nursing, Social Work, Clinical Psychology, and Communication Disorders.
• Nationally acclaimed programs in basic sciences, engineering, health law, health policy, and education. UH also has 19 faculty members elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
• A diverse student body and Pre-Med Honors program that creates a natural pipeline of students from underrepresented minorities in medicine.

Competitive awards to ensure the most talented physicians stay in Texas

UH has worked with, and successfully graduated, financially challenged students since its inception. It’s part of our DNA.

The UH College of Medicine will make every effort to offer scholarships and other financial aid to as many students as possible. Financial assistance for graduates who pledge to provide care in underserved areas throughout Texas may also be available from the state.

Furthermore, the College will use a holistic admissions process that will carefully consider predictors for those most likely to pursue primary care. These predictors include individuals who: have family members in service-oriented careers; are pursuing medicine as a second career; are African-American, Hispanic or from rural areas; and have previous experience in primary care in another capacity.

We invite you to become a transformational partner with the University of Houston College of Medicine.

Donors have the unique opportunity to build, with a clean sheet, a revolutionary health care model, and the second new medical school at a Tier One research university in over 50 years. By endorsing this innovative medical education model, your generosity will allow the University of Houston to decisively address one of the most intractable issues of our times: the urgent, critical need for innovative health care for the underserved — in Houston, in Texas, and nationwide.

Funding opportunities include:

• College of Medicine Naming Rights
• UH Health Gateway Naming Rights
• College of Medicine Laboratories, Clinics and Medical Education Classrooms in Health 2
• Endowed Scholarships for Students enrolled in the College of Medicine
• College of Medicine Endowed Deanship

College of Medicine Departments (4)

• Dept. of Biomedical Sciences
• Dept. of Clinical Sciences
• Dept. of Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Dept. of Health System & Population Health Sciences

College of Medicine Endowed Chairs (4)

• Dept. of Biomedical Sciences
• Dept. of Clinical Sciences
• Dept. of Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Dept. of Health System & Population Health Sciences

College of Medicine Endowed Professorships

For more information, contact:

Eloise Dunn Brice
Vice President, University Advancement
Phone: 713-743-8695
Email: uavc@central.uh.edu