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By Nancy Kinnally
Oct. 27, 2003
PFIZER FOUNDATION SUPPORTS OUTREACH, RESEARCH AT FSU'S MED SCHOOL
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-From rural high school students throughout Florida
to families living in poverty in outlying areas of Haiti and Panama,
many people will benefit from a $223,000 gift from the Pfizer
Foundation to the Florida State University College of Medicine.
"The FSU College of Medicine is committed to supporting programs
that expand health-care access, and we are pleased to have Pfizer as
our partner in this effort," said Dr. J. Ocie Harris, dean of the
medical school. "This grant from the Pfizer Foundation also will
support research that will shed light on why some low-income
populations don't achieve the same results from their medical care
as higher-income populations."
A new initiative that brings rural high school students from
throughout the state to FSU during the summer to learn about medical
careers is among the programs benefitting from the gift.
In addition, teachers in rural and urban underserved schools will
get training and continuing education that will enable them to
conduct in-school science electives as part of the medical school's
SSTRIDE outreach program, which is designed to channel students from
medically underserved rural and inner-city populations into medical
school.
The funds also will support FSUCares, a medical student organization
dedicated to addressing unmet medical needs, both locally and
abroad. The Pfizer Foundation's gift will enable more than 150
medical students to participate in international medical missions to
Haiti and Panama over the next three years.
In addition to these outreach efforts, Pfizer is funding research at
the medical school that seeks to determine how patients' health
literacy affects whether they take their medications properly and
whether they succeed in managing their illness. The study will focus
on diabetic Medicaid and Medicare patients in the Florida Panhandle.
"The Pfizer Foundation is pleased to support the committed men and
women at the Florida State University College of Medicine who are
reaching out to help patients in need find a better quality of
life," said Chuck Hardwick, president of the Pfizer Foundation and
senior vice president, Worldwide Government and Public Affairs,
Pfizer Inc. "We expect this to be the beginning of a partnership
that will benefit many future physicians and medical students in the
years to come."
The Pfizer Foundation Inc. is an independent charitable foundation
established by Pfizer Inc. in 1953. The Foundation's mission is to
promote access to quality health care and education, to nurture
innovation and to support the community involvement of Pfizer
people.
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