ACU is a uniquely transdisciplinary membership network uniting clinicians, advocates, and organizations in advocacy and clinical, operational and equity excellence to support clinicians caring for America’s underserved communities. According to research, underrepresented in medicine (UIM) clinicians are more likely to practice in and treat patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods. New research found that Black patients have better health outcomes when their medical provider is also Black. Therefore, the need to develop and support UIM medical professionals is critical to ensuring that patients from historically medically underserved communities have quality health care.
ACLM’s Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative Scholarship Program, which opens each year in January, will be available to ACU members who are UIM clinicians doing innovative lifestyle medicine work that is impacting communities in need. The HEAL Initiative Scholarship Program, prepares participants to sit for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) Certification Exam. Since launching the scholarship in 2020, nearly 60 UIM medical professionals have been awarded the $3,500 scholarship and nearly 70 percent of them passed the board exam.
“The synergy between ACLM and ACU is unmatched,” said ACLM Executive Director Susan Benigas. “More importantly, though, ACU’s strategic focus on health equity makes this partnership paramount in advancing ACLM’s HEAL Initiative, our commitment to address lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities, and to diversify the lifestyle medicine workforce with UIM clinicians who are on the front lines of delivering care to some of our nation’s most underserved patients.”
Earlier this year, ACLM’s HEAL Initiative expanded its priorities to develop a FQHC outreach strategy. This ACU partnership, leveraging its Centers of Excellence and other initiatives to improve outcomes for health center patients, is a key strategy component. The Centers of Excellence program aims to identify and develop a framework of standards and create supportive resources to help health centers develop their capacity and excellence in critical areas to improve health equity. Thus, ACU and ACLM will collaborate to raise awareness about emerging issues and opportunities, best practices, case studies, and new research and data that can impact health centers across the country. In addition, to ensure that health center clinicians have the tools and resources they need to practice lifestyle medicine, ACU will co-construct a strategy for incorporating lifestyle medicine training into Teaching Health Center graduate medical education (GME) and other synergistic opportunities serving health center medical professionals.
“This strategic collaboration is a natural evolution of ACU and ACLM’s shared commitment to advancing whole-person, accessible, and equitable care for all,” said ACU Executive Director Amanda Pears Kelly. “Through the HEAL Initiative and beyond, this vital partnership will allow us to further support our FQHC community’s clinical, operational, and equity excellence to reduce health inequities in and improve care for America’s historically medically underserved communities.”
ACU is the leading voice for the National Health Service Corps and a national advocate for the health center workforce and health equity. Given both organizations’ role in advancing policy and supporting legislation, the partnership will continue to explore alignment and potential collaboration on advocacy and public policy positions and initiatives.
About ACLM
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation’s medical professional society advancing lifestyle medicine as the foundation for a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, leading to whole-person health. ACLM educates, equips, empowers and supports its members through quality, evidence-based education, certification and research to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease, with a clinical outcome goal of health restoration as opposed to disease management.
About ACU
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) is a uniquely transdisciplinary membership association uniting clinicians, advocates, and organizations in the commitment to establishing a robust and diverse workforce to help transform communities to achieve health equity for all. Founded in 1996 by participants in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), ACU is the foremost advocate for the NHSC and leads advocacy, clinical, operational, and equity excellence and supports the healthcare workforce caring for America’s under-resourced populations. Learn more at clinicians.org.
Media Contact
Stacia Johnston, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 718-974-7213, [email protected], lifestylemedicine.org
Rick Brown, Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, 703-203-2432, [email protected], clinicians.org
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine
