Senator Perdue: New Partnership Leverages Power of Morehouse School of Medicine
Thursday, June 25th, 2020
U.S. Senator David Perdue, a member of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, applauded Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) for being awarded a new $40 million grant to fight COVID-19 in racial and ethnic minority, rural and socially vulnerable communities.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced MSM was selected to lead and coordinate a strategic initiative to help deliver COVID-19-related resources to communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
“Morehouse School of Medicine is one of the top HBCUs in the country and they are at the forefront of educating future medical professionals,” said Senator Perdue. “As we continue the fight against COVID-19, we must find new ways to support and protect our most vulnerable communities. This powerful new partnership will further leverage the positive impact Morehouse School of Medicine is already having on our state and the entire country.”
“This work will create the opportunity to measure the effectiveness of interventions begin deployed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. The results of which should lead to a new-found knowledge base to better prepare for and respond to future pandemics, especially in vulnerable communities,” said MSM President and Dean Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice. “We are so grateful for the personal support Senator Perdue has always shown for Morehouse School of Medicine and all he has done to champion HBCUs in the Senate.”
“The Trump Administration has made it a priority to support and empower Americans who have been most impacted by COVID-19, including minority, rural, and socially vulnerable communities,” said HHS
The new initiative – the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC) – is a three-year project designed to work with community-based organizations across the nation to deliver resources to help fight the pandemic. The network will strengthen efforts to link communities to COVID-19 testing, healthcare and social services and to best share and implement effective response, recovery and resilience strategies.
