Welcome to the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy

News: The RCHN Community Health Foundation (RCHN CHF) and The George Washington University Medical Center jointly announced today a $2 million gift from the Foundation to the Medical Center's Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy. We will use that money to establish the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative. Some of the activities for the collaborative include hosting post-doctoral fellows with a focus on economics and health policy, providing funding for masters students with an interest in community health, and conducting extensive health center research to examine health care delivery experiences, challenges, and achievements of health centers. For more details, follow these links to the gift overview and press release.

The Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy is a special initiative of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. This program was established in 2004 to honor Drs. H. Jack Geiger and Count Gibson, pioneers in community health practice and tireless advocates for civil and human rights. Through education, research, and training in community practice and leadership, the program aims to develop the next generation of community health leaders. Particular emphasis will be placed on the study of community health centers.

Nearly 40 years ago, Geiger and Gibson founded the nation's first health centers in Mound Bayou, Mississippi and Boston, Massachusetts. Today, more than 1,000 health centers serve over 14 million persons in 4000 urban and rural medically underserved communities across the nation. While health centers serve all patients who come through their doors, some centers emphasize specific underserved populations such as migrant and seasonal farmworkers and the homeless. Health centers are widely recognized for both the quality of their health care and their community accountability.

The Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy has been growing rapidly in its inaugural year. Current activities include:

• An array of MPH, MS, and doctoral level courses on medical underservice, health disparities, and civil rights policy and practices;
• Visitorships in Community Health Policy for individuals distinguished in community health practice and health policy advocacy on behalf of medically underserved communities and populations;
• The Emerging Leader Award;
• Health policy scholarships for Masters and Doctoral students pursuing research related to health disparities, minority health, and medical underservice.  Notification will be provided if scholarships become available for prospective or currently matriculating students;
• A fellowship in health policy for medical residents. This elective allows residents to gain an understanding of the U.S. health care system and how policy shapes and influences health care practices, with an emphasis on policies relating to providing care to underserved communities. Please contact Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, fmullan@gwu.edu or (202) 530-2341, if you are interested in learning more about this fellowship;
• A Community Health Center History Project is chronicling health centers and their communities, as well as the story of special movements within the health center family;
• A Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Project which promotes understanding and research related to the needs of this population;
• Development of an Endowed Chair in Community Health Policy and Medically Underserved Populations.

For information about the program please contact us. For general information about and assistance with applications to the School of Public Health and Health Services, please contact the Admissions Office.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,
Ross Margulies
Research Assistant
Ross.Margulies@gwumc.edu

Elizabeth Dawes
Research Assistant
Elizabeth.Dawes@gwumc.edu

Peter Shin, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Associate Research Professor of Health Policy
Director of Research

Sara Rosenbaum, J.D.
Hirsh Professor and Chair
sarar@gwu.edu