Community Partnership

Stelfanie Williams, vice president for community affairs, talks with Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams
Stelfanie Williams, Vice President for Community Affairs at Duke University and Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams.

Community Partnership

In alignment with Duke Health and Duke University, the Duke University School of Medicine is committed to serving others in our local community and beyond. Our faculty, staff and students make science-based decisions and seek to transform discoveries to improve human health through a variety of community initiatives, some of which are listed below.

 

Early College Partnership Between Duke Health, Durham Technical Community College and Durham Public Schools

Dean Klotman, Craig Albanese and members of Durham Technical College and Durham Public Schools

A partnership between Duke Health, Durham Technical Community College and Durham Public Schools has been awarded a transformative $29.5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to establish an early college for high school students interested in pursuing health care careers upon graduation. 

The Durham partnership will provide the preparation needed for careers in nursing, allied health, surgical tech, and clinical research. The key elements of the partnership are:

  • Interested Durham Public Schools (DPS) students in grades 9-12 will attend the early college high school and simultaneously earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree or workforce credential for aligned health care occupations. 
  • The Middle College at Durham Tech will expand to an early college high school and will be housed at Durham Tech (DTCC) in a newly renovated space, with the school opening in the fall of 2025.  
  • Upon graduation, students will have an immediate pathway to jobs or research roles at Duke Health.

Community Partnerships in the News

Dr. Kanecia Zimmerman holding a sign that say "Safe Treatment"

The ABCs of Keeping Kids Healthy

As communities grappled with how to get children and teenagers back to school safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zimmerman, MD, MPHS, was confident that she and her colleagues at Duke could help. She saw questions that needed to be answered, and she went to work.

LATIN-19 Co-founders discuss COVID-19's impact on the Latinx community

Duke University School of Medicine Dean Mary E. Klotman, MD, talks with co-founders of Duke’s LATIN-19 initiative Viviana S. Martinez-Bianchi, MD, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, and Gabriela Maradiaga Panayotti, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Latinx community and LATIN-19’s organized efforts to advocate for needs of this community of people.

 

Duke Kannapolis Campus

Duke’s MURDOCK Study Launches COVID-19 Research in Cabarrus County

Duke’s MURDOCK Study has launched a COVID-19 research project to follow the health of hundreds of North Carolina volunteers for several months. The study will also test a sub-group for COVID-19 infection and potential immunity to the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.

Duke Medical Students Bridge the Classroom with Community Through Root Causes

Root Causes was founded by students aiming to create an organizational space to support the engagement of health professional students in service, education, and advocacy related to the social drivers of health. The goal is to shift the patient care paradigm to include elements like healthy food as a direct part of care provision.

Additional Resources