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SUMMER 2017
SUMMER 2017
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SBH and the CUNY School of Medicine –
Two Institutions with a Common Mission
A focus on progressive, primary care in New York.
By Edward Telzak, MD, Chair, Medicine
“A new medical school run by the
City University of New York will
open with its first class in fall
2016 after receiving preliminary
accreditation...The school, the
CUNY School of Medicine…
will begin with 70 students and
have a partnership with the St.
Barnabas Health System in the
South Bronx.”
S
o began an article on July 14, 2015
in “The New York Times.” With a
similar philosophical and operational
mission, it seemed logical that the
City University of New York School of
Medicine (CUNY SOM) and SBH Health
System would come together. Following
initial discussions that began more than
five years ago between the Dean of the
Sophie Davis School of Biomedical
Education, Dr. Maurizio Trevisan,
MEDICAL EDUCATION
and former SBH President/CEO Dr.
Scott Cooper, the two institutions
embarked on a long-term project
with the goal of establishing a high
quality Liaison Committee on Medical
Education (LCME)-approved medical
school that emphasizes the principles
of primary care medicine and the
training of physicians from racial
and ethnic groups historically
underrepresented in medicine.
The CUNY School of Medicine is an
outgrowth of the success of the Sophie
Davis School of Biomedical Education.
Founded in 1973, the Sophie Davis
School operated under a Cooperative
School Model. Talented students
recruited from high school completed
the requirements for a Bachelor of
Science degree and the traditional
curriculum of the first two years of
medical school within five years on the
City College campus in West Harlem.
These students subsequently transferred
to one of six cooperating medical
schools to complete their clinical
clerkship years and, if successful,
were awarded an MD degree from the
school in which they completed their
clinical education. However, changes
in medical education, including the
shortage of clerkship availability due
to the expansion of existing medical
school class size and preference for
offshore medical schools because of
financial pressures, resulted in reduced
opportunities for clinical training for
Sophie Davis students. Over time, the
Cooperative Medical Schools model
became unsustainable. To continue
its commitment to train students
from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds and racial and ethnic
minorities, and to provide a large cadre
of primary care practitioners committed
to serving poor communities in New
York City and elsewhere, Sophie Davis
embarked on a process to become a
full MD-degree granting institution
accredited by the LCME. Critical to
this effort was finding a strong and
committed health care clinical partner
with similar goals.
Established in 1866, SBH is a not-for-
profit “safety-net” health care provider
that plays an essential role in delivering
health care in the South and Central
Bronx medically underserved minority
communities which rank among the
poorest urban areas in the United States.
In addition, SBH’s network provides
the breadth and depth in clinical
services that CUNY SOM required
with robust inpatient, outpatient and
emergency medical, mental health and
dental services. It operates a 422-bed
acute care community hospital and
Level II Trauma Center authorized
to treat the most critically ill and
severely injured patients. SBH’s New
York State-designated Stroke Center
and AIDS Center ensure access to
much-needed quality services in the
South/Central Bronx. Most importantly,
to support the CUNY SOM mission,
SBH is also a major provider of
ambulatory care services, with more
than 250,000 outpatient visits annually.
Its primary care physicians, specialists
and subspecialists offer the necessary
expertise to meet patients’ challenging
and evolving healthcare needs and
students’ educational needs. Mental
health services are provided by SBH
Behavioral Health (formerly Fordham-
Tremont Community Mental Health
Center), which operates six programs
that meet the mental health needs of
adults, teenagers and children. SBH
Behavioral Health handles more than
93,000 visits annually, underscoring
the crucial need for these services in
the Bronx and the important role of this
facility in the network.
Critically important to a new medical
school, SBH has a long history of
dedication to both undergraduate
and graduate medical education.
SBH sponsors ACGME-accredited
residency programs in Internal
Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency
Medicine and Psychiatry and non-
ACGME residency and fellowships
that are accredited by the American
Osteopathic Association (AOA) in
Dermatology, Internal Medicine,
Family Practice, Surgery, Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery, Surgical Critical
Care, Osteopathic and Manipulative
Medicine, as well as other residency
programs in Pediatric Dental Medicine
and Podiatry. During the course of the
academic year, there are approximately
250 resident physicians and well over
100 medical students from the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, New York
“To continue its commitment to
train students from economically
disadvantaged backgrounds and
racial and ethnic minorities,
and to provide a large cadre
of primary care practitioners
committed to serving poor
communities in New York
City and elsewhere, Sophie
Davis embarked on a process
to become a full MD-degree
granting institution accredited
by the LCME.”
