Two-Fold Mission

Mentoring underserved youth, providing free legal services to the needy, and offering wellness education to local communities, are some of the ways Touro students gain real-world experience while being trained to lead and serve.

Spread out across the U.S., Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) trains osteopathic physicians with an emphasis on practicing medicine in underserved communities. A majority of students engage with local communities to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities through health fairs, clinics and other service opportunities.

At the Harlem campus’ popular biannual health fairs, new partnerships are forged with local organizations, as everyone teams up to provide services that draw hundreds of attendees. Students provide blood pressure checks and glucose screenings; eye exams; hepatitis counseling; and distribute information on breast and cervical cancer, hepatitis and healthy eating.

At the Middletown, New York, campus, students team up to back powerful causes. They walk to support Alzheimer’s research and run to help domestic violence victims and a local women’s shelter. They visit children at schools to share information about nutrition and healthy eating habits. At “Teddy Bear Clinics,” they help reduce children’s fears of visiting the doctor by doing simulated medical checkups that teach the value of preventative medicine—all while the children hug their stuffed animals.

At the new Montana campus, there’s a focus on increasing representation of Native American physicians in medicine and promoting primary care in rural communities.

MedAchieve: Trying Out Medicine in High School

At Touro, increasing the number of underrepresented practitioners starts in high school. Through TouroCOM’s award-winning afterschool STEM program, MedAchieve, hundreds of high school students—many of whom live in medically underserved communities—are mentored and inspired to pursue careers in healthcare.

For some alumni, that path has led back to Touro. MedAchieve alumni are returning to TouroCOM to become DOs or enroll in its rigorous M.S. program that serves as a pipeline to the DO degree. MedAchieve alum Hannah Reinle, OMS-I, grew up in Cornwall, New York, an underserved community where access to primary care and emergency services are lacking. At MedAchieve, she felt welcomed and inspired by the lectures, cadaver lab and her mentor—an experience she recalls as “pivotal” in her pursuit of a medical career.

“He encouraged me during every activity and built up my self-confidence,” she says. “Our mentors were sources of advice and knowledge about college and medical school life that we would not have otherwise had access to.”

At Touro University School of Health Sciences (SHS), community service projects are required to graduate. Students work with individuals who have disabilities; teach technology to seniors in nursing homes; and volunteer at a therapeutic horsemanship program. They staff the Touro University Speech & Hearing Center, that provides affordable services to the community.

Students and faculty in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program collaborate on events with a nonprofit that redistributes parts of used prosthetic limbs to people in need worldwide. At “Disassembly Days” on campus, students disassemble the limbs and learn about the humanitarian need for them.

“Students feel empowered and humbled by their ability to make a difference supporting individuals with limb loss,” says Assistant Professor Yocheved Bensinger-Brody.

In the Occupational Therapy Program, students run clothing and coat drives; walk to raise money for cancer research; and run wellness groups for residents in assisted living facilities, where the focus is on fall prevention, exercise and socialization. They also volunteer in classrooms; help run events at a local Jewish community center; and volunteer at a nonprofit that provides therapy through horsemanship for children and adults with developmental, emotional, social and physical challenges.

Free Legal Help to Start Small Businesses and Educate Underserved Children

At Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, a Small Business Legal Assistance Clinic provides free legal services to minority and women-owned small businesses on Long Island. The clinic provides much-needed help with startups and valuable hands-on experience for law students.

Children who are underserved, immigrants, or who have disabilities or come from low-income backgrounds, can get free legal help overcoming barriers to high-quality public education. At the center’s Education Justice Clinic, students help represent children in civil rights, school discipline and special education cases.

Pharmacists Cultivate Awareness Through Service

“The execution of high-quality community events are a true demonstration of our mission; that is, to develop the next generation of pharmacists vested in promoting wellness, especially among underserved populations,” says Dr. Michael Liu, assistant dean of clinical and professional affairs at Touro College of Pharmacy (TCOP).

Students and faculty partner with community groups, senior centers and government agencies such as the NYC Department of Aging, to help seniors living in city housing and assisted living facilities, with medication and health counseling. They check vitals and bone density, and counsel on medication management. In keeping with the school’s historically active role in immunization programs, TCOP’s student pharmacists also screen seniors’ health histories to make sure they can receive important vaccines. They have taken their counsel to public schools where they talk to students about the perils of prescription drug abuse.

At a recent community health fair with TouroCOM in Harlem, pharmacy student Ryan Fabian counseled visitors about how to take drugs and manage side effects. “More importantly, we offered education about the disease itself,” he says. “Often, we find people just take their medications, but don’t really change their lifestyle to actually help.”

Touro Dental Teaches Kids Healthy Habits at Annual Give Kids A Smile Day

Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) incorporates all the hallmarks of Touro—a high-quality education with a focus on public health and serving the community. TCDM’s annual Give Kids A Smile Day is a favorite of the community, bringing together dental students, faculty and volunteer dentists to provide free screenings, education and fun activities for families around New York.

Touro Dental’s young patients and their families enjoy face painting, snacks, arts and crafts, educational activities, and a visit from the Tooth Fairy. The event, organized each year by Touro’s dental students, aims to improve oral health and access to care for the local community’s most vulnerable patients. Third and fourth-year dental students team up with TCDM faculty and volunteer dentists to give their young patients free dental screenings, cleanings, orthodontic consultations and oral health education activities designed to foster good oral hygiene practices at home.

In addition to highlighting Touro Dental Health’s commitment to providing access to dental services, especially for underserved populations with special needs, Give Kids A Smile underscores the College’s commitment to community service. Meanwhile, our dental center in New York is dedicated to helping people with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD), a population with limited or no access to dental care. Plans are underway to build a TouroCAREs clinic, which will be dedicated to treating more members of this community and training the next generation of specialists. Utilizing advanced assistive technology to deliver crucial oral healthcare in a caring and supportive environment, the goal of the clinic is to remedy longstanding access issues, mitigate emergency room visits and hospitalizations and train more dentists capable of providing humane and specialized dental care to IDD individuals. TouroCAREs will ultimately improve oral health outcomes, enhance independence and promote overall well-being within the IDD community.

Similarly, the Pierce Autism Center, at Touro University Nevada, was created to offer evidence-based applied behavioral analysis services to families and children diagnosed with autism and/or a developmental disability. The demand for services far exceeds the services available in the area and the Center helps bridge the gap by providing support for a wide range of developmental issues, helping children reach their full potential.

These programs help to accomplish Touro University’s strategy to make a positive impact, expand educational opportunities and enrich society. By investing in underserved communities, we’re investing in a better future for us all.