NEW YORK, NY—June 12, 2024—United Hospital Fund has opened the application process for the inaugural class of its new Health Equity Fellowship for clinician leaders, a program designed to cultivate the next generation of health equity change-makers in New York. Applications are due by 2:00 pm (Eastern time) on July 30, 2024.
UHF will select up to 12 early- and mid-career doctors and nurses from diverse backgrounds in the greater New York City area to participate in the 18-month learning experience facilitated by UHF and health equity and leadership development experts. UHF will underwrite 20 percent of fellows’ time so they can partner with a community-based organization (CBO) on an action-learning project to address specific health equity needs in the community they serve. Their CBO partner will receive an honorarium for collaborating on the project.
“Health equity is at the center of UHF’s work, and we are thrilled to offer this unique opportunity to clinicians who have strong leadership potential and are committed to advancing health equity and shaping the future of health care in New York,” said UHF President and CEO Oxiris Barbot, MD. “We designed this fellowship in recognition that sustainable systems transformation is not just about talented individuals, but about their ability to join forces with other similarly minded individuals in service of community.”
Eligible applicants must be early- to mid-career clinicians: that is, doctors who are at least five years post residency or nurses who have at least 10 years of experience and/or have already completed an advanced practice degree (such as a PhD). They must work in the greater New York City area (the five boroughs, Long Island, Rockland, or Westchester counties), spend at least 40 percent of their time doing clinical work in hospital- or community-based settings, and be members of the community they serve or have a proximate relationship to those communities.
The curriculum will include in-person and virtual sessions, trainings, and cohort-building retreats, one-on-one mentorship from senior leaders with similar interests, coaching from a national expert in integrative leadership, and more.
“The health equity fellows will collectively shape and reimagine what health equity looks like in New York City at a critical point in time,” said Camila Pazos Fajardo, director of the program. “Through the curriculum, fellows will interrogate the root causes of health disparities, listen to, elevate, and partner with the communities they serve, and as a cohort, they will support each other as they work to shift policies, mindsets, and power dynamics in pursuit of a more just and equitable health care system.”
United Hospital Fund has considerable experience developing fellowship programs. For 15 years, UHF and the Greater New York Hospital Association have run the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program, which has trained more than 300 mid-career physicians, nurses, and physician assistants from over 50 health care facilities in the New York metropolitan area to become quality improvement and patient safety leaders in their organizations. In addition, UHF’s Pediatrics for an Equitable Developmental Start (PEDS) Learning Network Fellowship Program worked with pediatricians to transform pediatric primary care in ways that will improve early childhood development and reduce health disparities.
About United Hospital Fund
United Hospital Fund works to build an effective and equitable health care system for every New Yorker. An independent, nonprofit organization, we are a force for improvement, analyzing public policy to inform decision-makers, finding common ground among diverse stakeholders, and developing and supporting innovative programs that improve health and health care. We work to dismantle barriers in health policy and health care delivery that prevent equitable opportunities for health. For more on our initiatives and programs please visit our website at www.uhfnyc.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X., Instagram, and Facebook.