ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ President and Provost Dixie Tooke-Rawlins (on the right) spoke during a videoconference with SOUTHCOM’s medical conference to discuss the collaboration between the two organizations.
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½) will partner with the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) to support bringing much-needed medical care to populations in remote areas and in areas of most need in the Latin American and Caribbean regions. The partnership was announced during a February 14, 2022, medical conference at USSOUTHCOM’s Headquarters in Doral, Florida. USSOUTHCOM Command Surgeon Navy Capt. Christine L. Sears noted that ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½â€™s permanent medical teaching clinics in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and El Salvador demonstrate ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½â€™s commitment to global health and community-based medicine and align well with USSOUTHCOM’s Enduring Promise to serve and support its partners in the region.
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ President Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO stated that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with USSOUTHCOM “will provide a framework that will allow us to identify opportunities where ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ can work side by side with SOUTHCOM to prepare our students for a career in medicine while positively impacting the lives of citizens in these regions.â€
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ has established and operated permanent medical clinics in the regions in collaboration with ministries of health and non-governmental organizations (NGO). The College has a solid foundation built on global partnerships over the past 16 years having signed MOUs with ministries of health and related government agencies, in-country medical schools, and host NGO organizations in each country established that provide for continuing programs. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ is well suited for the SOUTHCOM partnership that will complement their long-standing collaboration in Central America. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ is one of the largest medical schools in the U.S., with four campuses that will soon graduate over 640 physicians annually across the campuses. With a mission to serve rural and other areas of most need, many students select the school because of the commitment to global health; where they have the opportunity to participate in international rotations, research and a virtual global seminar across the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ network. In particular, collaboration with SOUTHCOM will benefit ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ military scholarship students by providing unparalleled joint medical humanitarian engagements assisting remote populations and working with the military; an opportunity that will prepare them for their military medical careers. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ graduates include 35 to 60 physicians entering the military each year. In addition, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ faculty and student research in the U.S. and in collaboration with its partners in Central American and the Caribbean has great potential to complement SOUTHCOM.
This MOU provides a pathway forward where ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ medical students and SOUTHCOM will enhance the lives of those living in Central America through humanitarian programs in partnership with government and non-governmental organizations.