Press Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Preston
(973) 972-7265

At UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Healthcare Foundation of NJ Funds First Center for Humanistic Medicine in Nation

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey has awarded a $3.2 million grant to the New Jersey Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) to establish a Center for Humanism, the first such center at any medical school in the nation.

The grant, the largest single grant ever awarded by the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, will be matched by a $1.2 million commitment for student scholarships from UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Named the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Center for Humanistic Medicine, this initiative will focus exclusively on training doctors in compassionate care and becoming medical and scientific experts on humanism in medicine.

Dr. Russell Joffe, dean of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, said, "With the initiation of this center, we are raising the academic bar. We are asking our students to be more than technically competent. We want them to learn not only the skills required to practice medicine, but the values and ideals.

"The challenge of humanism is that it presents the opportunity for a cultural change, one which emphasizes that as medical professionals, we must value people beyond illness and diagnosis," said Dr. Joffe. "It's not just about kindness and compassion. It's about treating the individual, not the disease. When humanistic concern is incorporated into the delivery of health care, it becomes a valuable and powerful component to the therapeutic and healing process."

Lester Lieberman, chairman of the board of trustees of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, said,"We want to endow and perpetuate excellence in medical education. That is a lofty goal, but the foundation board believes that this center has an opportunity to change the face of medical education, and ultimately, dramatically improve patient outcomes. We have great confidence that New Jersey Medical School will set a standard in humanistic training that will someday be a model for medical schools nationally.

"We expect this program to be based on an intellectual rigor--both scientific and academic--that will result in scholarly work that defines the standards of humanistic care--not only how to practice this approach, but how to teach it to medical students," Lieberman said. "We hope our scholars and faculty will address questions such as what in the optimum healing environment and how can humanism thrive in the increasingly regulatory environment of health care."

Dr. George Heinrich, chief executive officer of the Foundation of UMDNJ, said, "The need for this center is self-evident. Too many young physicians graduate from medical school having lost the euphoria and optimism that motivated them to choose a career in medicine, and many times, their residency experience diminishes their spirit even further. Too often they feel that the health care world is so regulated these days, there is no room for kindness and responsiveness when dealing with patients. Through this center and its scholars, and our other medical students who are exposed to the humanistic philosophy this center will demonstrate in a real way every day, we want to change their experience and as a consequence, change the practice of medicine."

The center's opening in September 2004 will coincide with the introduction of a new medical school curriculum that will equip students to be even better prepared to practice a high quality of care in a rapidly changing health care environment.

At the core of the center, 10 academically talented, community service-oriented students from New Jersey will be selected annually to receive full scholarships to attend UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. The HFNJ scholars will participate in a variety of ongoing enrichment and leadership development programs involving seminars, preceptorships, one-on-one mentoring, original research and community service projects. The scholars, who will graduate with a special distinction in humanistic care, will act as mentors to other students, all of whom will be involved with the humanism program at various points in their studies.

Faculty associated with the center will develop a wide range of learning opportunities for all residents and medical students affiliated with the medical school. These opportunities will explore behaviors, attitudes and approaches to patient care, colleagues and the practice of medicine.

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