Gala supports urban health programs

The Urban Global Health Initiative trains future physicians to work on health issues around the globe, with projects in the Dominican Republic and India.

The department of medicine will celebrate future physicians and raise money for global health programs April 15 during the 3rd annual Urban Global Health Gala.

The event, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Club in Willis Tower, raises money to “further the next generation of physicians, and it helps to improve the lives of underserved patients,” said Max Brito, associate professor of medicine and associate head for urban global health.

The Urban Global Health Initiative’s public health projects are based locally in Chicago and internationally in the Dominican Republic and India. The program also supports exchanges and collaborations between UIC and other universities or institutions around the world.

“The mission of the Urban Global Health Initiative is to provide support for the urban and global projects of the department of medicine, so we support all scholarly activities of our residents who are working with underserved patients in urban Chicago and in international settings,” Brito noted.

One of the projects funded with the proceeds of this gala is the annual Global Medicine elective for students and internal medicine residents in the Dominican Republic.

“We teach them about tropical diseases and the practice of medicine in a resource-constrained environment,” Brito said.

Residents in the global health track of the internal medicine residency are currently working with intravenous drug users to decrease HIV rates in Chicago, characterizing a recent epidemic of chikungunya fever in the Dominican Republic and teaching sessions on cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Hyderabad, India.

Tickets for the gala can be purchased online. General admission is $150 and VIP is $200; VIP tickets include a private visit to the Willis Tower’s Skydeck. A raffle and silent auction — with prizes including hotel stays in the Caribbean, plane tickets to the Dominican Republic and activities in Chicago — will take place along with food and drinks and a live performance by the band Mambo 7. Guests need a government-issued ID to check-in.

For more information, call 312-996-7700.