Community Commitment
Building Relationships, Creating New Opportunities
VP&S has been a fixture of the Washington Heights-Inwood community for more than 70 years.
We seek to be a part of our neighborhood—not simply providing care, but integrating our faculty and our students into the life of the community.
This vibrant neighborhood offers faculty and students the opportunity to work with a patient population that is underserved, thereby helping to alleviate the healthcare disparities that confront minority, immigrant, and poor populations. There are many opportunities to participate in the various community education and community-building programs established by organizations within the Washington Heights and Harlem community, as well as VP&S’ own community programs, such as the Washington Heights Initiative, Columbia Student Medical Outreach (CoSMO), and community-based research sponsored by the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
Learn more about our thriving community health initiatives through the Office of Service Learning, our student-run clinics, and the Office of Government and Community Affairs, in addition to viewing the video below.