Year in Community Service

 Additional Stories

• Cancer Center Launches Internship Program with LaGuardia Community College: This past June, the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and LaGuardia Community College launched a new internship program aimed at helping LAGCC students jump-start careers in clinical research. The new internship will create a pipeline of trained research professionals from diverse backgrounds.  

• Putting Research Into Action: Community Outreach and Engagement: From Staten Island to Northern Manhattan, Columbia's Cancer Center works side by side with the communities it serves, putting research into action through programs that address critical needs. 

• Third Annual COMBO Playdate Bolsters Family and Community Health: More than 500 attendees came out to Haven Plaza for the 3rd annual COMBO Playdate, a free event for Washington Heights families that connects them to resources and each other. 

• Bipartisan Legislation to Fund Community Mental Health Programs Introduced in Congress: Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17) have introduced the Community Mental Wellness Worker Training Act to increase the availability of mental health services to the underserved. 

• Brain Health Outreach Fosters Connections in Local Community: Hiral Shah, MD, conducts brain health seminars at St. Luke AME Church in West Harlem, raising awareness and helping people with untreated conditions seek care. Shah created the booklet, PD Movers—We Keep Moving, featuring the voices of patients and caregivers to provide facts and dispel myths about Parkinson’s disease. 

• You’re Invited: ColumbiaDoctors at the Farmers’ Market: This summer, ColumbiaDoctors had a booth at the Fort Washington Greenmarket offering expert medical and health advice, referrals, and more to our Washington Heights neighbors and community. 

• The Columbia Center for Community Health Enters a New Era of Public Health and Advocacy 

  The CCCH underwent a transformation in 2023, adopting a new name that reflects its expanded mission. This change highlights the CCCH’s commitment to certifying and training community health workers and positively impacting the health of the Uptown community. 

• Medical Center Neighborhood Fund held their 36th Annual Awards Ceremony: At the ceremony in October, grants were awarded to 58 local non-profit community-based organizations to support their work in the Washington Heights and Inwood community. 

• CUIMC Welcomes Community Leaders, Local Residents, Policy Makers, and Others to Campus for Project Medical Education: Project Medical Education invited 22 local residents, community leaders, policy makers, and others to spend the day on campus and learn about the day-to-day activities at CUIMC. 

• The Community Research Forum Returns to CUIMC: On June 22, CUIMC welcomed community residents and others to campus for a Community Research Forum focusing on the latest advances in cancer research at Columbia for the first time in-person since 2019.