UChicago Medicine celebrates 22 years of serving community service

Video Transcript

We are here working together, shoulder and shoulder, strengthening that community. It's very important that we recognize the power of community and the power of service.

This is one of the most important things we do on behalf of our community. We go out to do things in the community that they themselves don't have the funds to do or the support to do, and we're going out to do some things.

Enjoy the day. Think about the role of UChicago Medicine in our community, this real chance to be deeply engaged, to give back, to become part of it in a way that is different than our day to day work experiences because we have to partner with the community to try to help the community succeed and thrive. So again, thank you for being here. I really appreciate everything that you do for the medical center and, most importantly, for the community that we serve.

So when we get an opportunity to partner with organizations like the UChicago Medicine group, it is phenomenal for us because not only are you bringing good hands to do good work-- you even provided a few dollars, well-needed dollars, to help buy the supplies so that we can do the work. We've got people painting our brand new ceiling and our hallway. They're cleaning up storm damage from last winter.

These communities can have access to fresh vegetables at a reasonable price and help grow them, and we get to help grow them today. So it's been just a rewarding day.

The University of Chicago and University of Chicago Medicine is a neighbor in this community, and we know that there are many needs of the community. And one of the things that we need to do is to make the community aware of our desire to help because you can make a tremendous difference in the lives of the people who live in this community.

We always get more by giving. I learned more about the volunteers. I was working with. We were painting.

We have to be together. We are members of the same community. We are inextricably linked with our community to succeed.

This has been just a real joy to be in an elementary school in our community painting the walls. So when the kids come back, they can come back to this fresh, clean, newly painted environment. Working alongside community partners in helping them to build the capacity of their organizations to do the work that they do-- and in truth, we're better able to do the work that we do if they're able to do what they do.

We have extended our reach in the way of our partnership. Our Ingalls campus is also hosting DOSAR now. This is the second year that they are hosting and partnering with some of their organizations that they serve in the Southlands.

To having the Ingalls volunteers here today makes a huge difference. We've partnered with Ingalls hospital as long as I can remember. We just are grateful for the partnership and grateful for being in the community.

Partnerships are really important so we can demonstrate to the community that we're just not there in a moment of urgent need or crisis, but we're here to support them in the community at all times.

I took this jump to volunteer, and I think that more people should try. It kind of gives you a little boost. Like, we got this.

The University of Chicago has opened the door. We can get those-- our walls cleaned, our garden. So, beautification so it looks appealing to the community. And we don't have the manpower to do those things. And we're so grateful that you guys have the volunteers to come and do that for us.

Medicine is the part that heals, but healing is holistic. And so we have to be able to pour into not just medicinal but to actually the whole person. And so I think us volunteering in the community lets people know that we do care.

The type of people that work at University of Chicago Medicine and Ingalls really do care about helping not only when patients come in but really making the area around us better. And so it just feels like a natural part of what our calling was.

The residents in those communities know what those organizations mean to their community, helps keep the thread of humanity by understanding that it takes all of us to contribute to strengthening community and strengthening wellness.

I'm really excited that the team could come out here and support Project HOOD along with UChicago Medicine and be able to give back to this community. And I learned so much today just by knowing what this neighborhood means and what they need. And I'm just glad that we can lend a hand to the center right now. Just seeing, you know, my teammates help around and just really just give a helping hand I think it's everything, and it just-- it always makes your day better when you're helping out your community.

Team food pantry!

Nearly 200 University of Chicago Medicine volunteers, including a dozen senior leaders, came together on Saturday, June 29 to support 17 South Side and south suburban organizations across nine communities as part of the health system’s annual Day of Service and Reflection (DOSAR).

The tradition was started 22 years ago by former first lady Michelle Obama. This year’s service projects included painting, gardening, cleaning, organizing, care package assembly and working in a food pantry and thrift store, all to help strengthen the communities the health system serves.

It takes all of us to contribute to strengthening community and strengthening wellness.” Franklin Cosey-Gay, PhD, MPH, Executive Director, Community & External Affairs, Urban Health Initiative, University of Chicago Medicine.

Brenda Battle, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Vice President for Community Health Transformation and Chief Equity Officer at UChicago Medicine, called the annual Day of Service and Reflection one of the most important things the health system can do for its community. It provides not just funds but also hands to help the organizations accomplish their goals, she said.

“In truth, we’re better able to do the work we do if they're able to do the work they do,” she said.

Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Dean and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at UChicago Medicine, said DOSAR gives employees an opportunity to engage in the community in a way that differs from their day-to-day experiences.

The volunteers learned more about their community’s needs and also about each other — something Anderson embraced while painting with his DOSAR team.

Despite the heat and humidity, there were smiles aplenty and time for reflection on volunteers’ and UChicago Medicine’s roles in the community.

“Medicine is the part that heals, but healing is holistic. We have to be able to pour into the whole person. I think volunteering in the community lets people know that we do care,” said Angela Young, Coordinator for Business Development and Physician Relations at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial.

Members of the WNBA's Chicago Sky also joined in to make a difference. The Chicago Sky and UChicago Medicine have a multiyear partnership that names the academic health system as the official medical provider and a major sponsor of the team.

“I learned so much today about what this neighborhood means and what they need, and I'm just glad we can lend a hand,” said WNBA Chicago Sky player Isabelle Harrison. “Seeing my teammates really just give a helping hand, I think it's everything. It always makes your day better when you're helping out your community.”