Medical Education Cooperation With Cuba

As an ELAM graduate who was fortunate enough to avail of all of MEDICC's different programs (Mnisi Fellowship to cover costs for board exams, Community Connections to facilitate summer rotation placements in U.S. clinics and hospitals, Pathway to Residency mentorship for guidance in the residency application process), I can attest to how invaluable the support that MEDICC provides to ELAM students and graduates has been for me. The fact that everyone who applied to residency in my graduating class (Class of 2014) all matched successfully into a residency program on the first try shows how MEDICC's different pipeline programs contributed to a successful match season and resulted in our successful transition into residency programs in the U.S. that predominantly work with the most underserved communities. I hope MEDICC continues with the great work they are doing locally and internationally!

A great group of people working to increase medical education and exchange above politics. Yes, the exchange trips are quite expensive, especially for independent researchers and scholars. However, the lectures were excellent, delivered by people whose devotion to healthcare is unmistakeable, and the sites we visited were informative and diverse. The traveling MEDICC staff works tirelessly to bridge the experiences of both visitors and hosts. This was one of my most memorable trips ever.

I travelled to Cuba this year with MEDICC to learn about the Cuban healthcare system. Everyone involved with MEDICC was very informative and helpful. The opportunities we had to engage in exchanges with Cuban healthcare professionals were excellent. MEDICC does wonderful work sharing the Cuban healthcare system with a broader audience.
I am also very impressed with MEDICC's program of engagement with medically underserved communities in the US and with students receiving their medical education through ELAM.

I spent a month in Cuba recently, looking into the national Health Services Distribution, ELAM, and Medical Training in the country. It is terrific, especially taking into consideration, the difficulties the US had put in their way. At present, with the changing attitudes of the US, one can only imagine how much more can be done. MEDICC has played no small part in this developement, and should you be considering exploring what is being done in the field in Cuba, I can heartedly recommend using them as aprimary resource.

MEDICC, through it's journal MEDICC Review, has brought valuable information about Cuban health care organization and advance in medical research that benefit all of us.

Too expensive to go to cuba tru your non profit
I am a physician , trying to establish relationship to help Cuba , but I have been
Not able to go tru your prices

I had the opportunity to travel with MEDICC to explore and learn about CUBA and their health care system. The information, resources and exposure was incredible. I so enjoyed learning about the medical school and the opportunities for dedicated practitioners to become physicians in their communities. I continue to promote this program whenever appropriate. Would love to be a board member and or work for this organization.

Dr. Chiquita Tuttle

Saw this organization in action on a trip to Cuba. Amazing work they are doing taken care of the population in need of health care. Dedicated, caring organization doing fabulous work in Cuba.

This organization helps physicians who have studied medicine in Cuba to practice medicine in the USA. Many of these physicians have very limited financial resources and are unfamiliar with the grueling and expensive process to practice medicine here. MEDICC helps these doctors in every step of this process and has been responsible for giving us an indirect look at Cuba (since we get to interact with the US doctors that Cuba produced). Since I have interacted with many of them, I can say that US doctors who are trained in Cuba are very smart, hard-working, dedicated, bilingual, and want to work in the medically-underserved communities in the USA. These skills make them an asset to their US patients and a model to all of their medical colleagues. Without MEDICC, we would not have these outstanding physicians in our medical system.

For many years, this group has provided unprecedented and accurate information about the growing field of US-Cuban medical cooperation. I share their news and information with thousands of people through the Yahoo News Group which I direct focusing on US Cuban relations.

Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California
Havana, Cuba
walterlx@earthlink.net
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CubaNews/info

Great help for young american studying medicine career in Cuba. An d great help for needed people in Haiti

Undoubtedly, Cuba has models in healthcare, agriculture, etc. that are low-cost that the U.S. could learn from. Vice versa, Cubans experience many issues accessing technology due to strained relations with the U.S. MEDICC strives to build a collaborative world in which we can all benefit from what the other has to offer. In addition to their many great programs, MEDICC, on principle, is a leader for emphasizing the importance of cooperation.

I had one of my first jobs at MEDICC and since then, I have been inspired to research mulit-sector approaches to public health issues for the rest of my career.

With the opening between the US and Cuba, it is imperative that we understand more about Cuba, its health system and open the science dialogue as that will likely be the first area to be encourage in collaboration. MEDICC helps immensely with that, acquainted those not in Cuba with the character of medicine and medical science in Cuba, an increasingly important area of concern and interest to the US and world medical community.

Medicc was a 'voice in the wilderness' in the US until recently, telling Americans about what was happening with health and health professions education in Cuba during a period when few others were. As a teaching resource in those days they were invaluable. Now that relations with Cuba are improving, Medicc is once again leading the way by providing our political, clinical and educational leaders with the insights gained by years of experience 'on the ground.' We need them more than ever!

MEDICC arranged an itinerary for our group of healthcare professionals/administrators, governmental officials, and academics to look at Cuba's healthcare/public health system and how other agencies/stakeholders are engaged in improving the population's health. It was an eye-opening experience--we learned some lessons that we are trying to apply to our region.

This is a wonderful organization! It has worked tirelessly to explore medical realities in Cuba and to build the friendship that has led to a relaxing between both countries. We now will have the opportunity to open research between the US and Cuba and to provide mutual benefits from that research.

MEDICC work it is also very important for the LatinAmerican context, where some institutions take its initiatives as a role model.

MEDICC, thank you for your resilience !

MEDICC does extraordinary work to support US students studying medicine in Cuba. They assist with exam preparation and exam fees, and work with US hospitals to find opportunities for rotations here in the US which is invaluable when these amazing students apply to residencies in the united states. MEDICC is an integral part of this pipeline of passionate young doctors, the majority from backgrounds under-represented in medicine, committed to caring for underserved communities.

I experienced the Cuban health system through MEDICC as a 4th year med student in 1999. It was an amazing experience and I'm thrilled at the work they continue to do within and outside of Cuba.

MEDICC has been an essential part of my medical career. They have provided support and resources needed along the way.

At the end of the 1990s, I teached nutritional biochemistry to students of the Tulane University, who passed in Cuba short stays for medical education and exchanges with our students at the Faculty of Medicine. The excellent results of the medical cooperation with Cuba contained in this review is an excellent background for future collaborations on the field of medical assistance and research in the whole American continent.

Prof. Manuel Hernández-Triana, MD, PhD
Past President
Latin American Nutrition Society

In 2012, MEDICC organized a tour of the Cuban public health system for a group of public health, non-profit and public officials from Albuquerque, NM. Many members of our group were skeptical of what the Cuban health system had to offer. By the time we returned that Cuba has quite a lot to offer the U.S. in terms of: community engagement, cross-sector collective impact, preventing and managing chronic disease, and a host of other ways to help people to live healthy lives while reducing the economic burden of the healthcare system on taxpayers. This amazing organization not only works to improve health outcomes in the U.S. but also increases understanding, empathy, good will and partnerships between the U.S. and Cuba that will have a lasting impact.

In May, 2015 I travelled to Havana, Cuba under the auspices of this organization's educational activities. The quality, content, organizational expertise, sites visited, and depth and breadth of what I experienced and learned far exceeded my pre-trip expectations. Since returning I am in contact with other programs developed by MEDICC, and am optimistic about being able to implement some of the impressive social, educational, and humanitarian accomplishments for the benefit of citizens of the USA, as well as educate both laypersons and medical professionals about the impressive advances in research unique to Cuba.

I had the opportunity to travel with this organization.....and it was truly an outstanding experience. A must do for anyone interested in the Cuban Healthcare system.

Went to Cuba with them and they are a class act. If you are interested in health care and Cuba, they are the ones to travel with. They have over 25 years of connections with the Cuban public health system. Plus, their travel prices were competitive if not even cheaper than many other vendors.

I was the mentor of a US student who received her medical degree in Cuba, with the indispensable support of MEDDIC. The work they do in support of populations who have little access to healthcare in our own country, United States, by helping these youth from poor backgrounds receive their medical degree, is extraordinary. It deserves nothing but our unwavering support and admiration.

MEDICC is an unsung hero in the struggle to both recognize the accomplishments of the Cuban medical system and to better integrate the Cuban medical system into the US-dominated narrative of health and health care in the Western hemisphere. Their work with ELAM and with disseminating scientific accomplishments is superb. MEDICC deserves kudos as well as support.

This is an excellent organization that provides a real and unbiased perspective of Cuban medical development.

I have been supporting MEDICC for over five years. Their important support for students at Latin American School of Medicine and their educational efforts that let the world know of Cuba's medical accomplishments and research are initiatives that are changing the world. That why I support their work.

As a graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba. I can say with out hesitation that my successful transition into residency in the US would not have been possible without MEDICC 's support and guidance.

MEDICC provides vital support to the students at the Latin American School of Medicine. Thanks for all you did and continue to do to support me and my colleagues!

Melissa Davis, MD
Graduate of ELAM, Habana, Cuba
3rd year resident in Family Medicine, the Ohio State University

I went on a MEDICC sponsored trip to Cuba to look at how the Cuban system deals with Gender and Health issues, it was an experience that I will never forget! The work this organization is doing is very important and I encourage any and all support people may give.

As a member of a Cuban American organization, Cuban Americans for Engagement (CAFE), I am keenly aware of the role MEDICC plays explaining within the US the strengths of the Cuban medical system. Because of its lack of resources, Cuba puts all its efforts into prevention. If you haven't already, listen to Gail Reed explain on the TED program where the world's doctors should be trained. It is in Cuba. http://www.ted.com/talks/gail_reed_where_to_train_the_world_s_doctors_cuba?language=en

By also helping U.S. disadvantaged youth study medicine in ELAM, the Cuban medical school, MEDICC is playing its part in the thawing of relations between the two nations.

Today (10/29/2014), in an unexpected move, the U.S. accepted Cuba's invitation and sent a CDC official to Havana to join the Caribbean and Latin American nations in a summit summoned last week to organize the hemisphere against the spread of ebola. Working together for the sake of global health, Cuba and the US are putting aside half a century of enmity. MEDICC was already on the ground.

The staff at MEDICC are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the organization and are very comprehensive in messages about their work including both goals and accomplishments. Great job at relaying this information to the public!

In a era when global health considerations far transcend national differences and political squabbles, MEDICC stands out as an exemplar of the kind of work needed to create and disseminate knowledge of the highest relevance. My principal connection is through their newsletters and information distributed over the internet. Working with immigrant populations in the U.S. I find the information and persistent outreach invaluable in getting a health perspective more far reaching and relevant than most of what is available through general sources based in U.S. only.

This organization is impressive ​for ​all the help and support ​they have given over the years. Thank you for helping to transmit to the world the virtues of the Cuban medical system and the ​many ​achievements in various fields of Cuban medicine. Thanks for helping to foster exchange between health professionals and assist with the​ir​ professional development. ​I wish everyone at this organization my most deserved congratulations.

MEDICC provides excellent opportunities for health care professionals to learn more about how universal integrated care works. They have consistently supported positive changes to U.S. health care primarily by supporting our young doctors graduating from ELAM in Cuba but also through educating those already in the field.

Over a long career of Community-Oriented Primary Care and Medical Education in the US, I've learned many things from Cuba - and from MEDICC. The models of care that have been developed in Cuba are based on equity, science, and compassion; and they have many features which resonate with the efforts of Progressives in the US. MEDICC has - through its publications and tours - been the central agency making these models available for us to observe and learn from. Two features stand out. The first is ELAM and the second is the Family Practice foundation of the medical care system. With consistent performance - but without being strident - MEDICC has shared these terrific programs with us. MEDICC is a non-profit organization which yields an outstanding return on investment.

US professionals and students in the health field are hungry for information about Cuba's struggles to improve population health. Over the years, MEDICC has done more than any other group to inform us about the innovations and achievements in that small country. They give us access to current Cuban publications and they make it easier for us to see the Cubans at work. I'm especially grateful for MEDICC's assistance to US students who choose to get their medical education in Cuba. As North Americans win their medical degrees in Cuba, MEDICC has helped them proceed into US-based residency programs and begin to serve underprivileged US communities.

I found out about MEDICC first, after watching movie Salud about ELAM. My wife immediately recognized bus from La Ceiba to Tokoa in Honduras which is passing through her village and later about Luther & Wendy - two students from the neighboring Garifuna village, who are ELAM alumni. Luther update was featured as well in the recent Gail Reed TED talk. MEDICC is essential not only with providing otherwise totally unknown ELAM achievements, but also helping Luther to deliver health care to remote Garifuna region in Honduras, where no other health professionals care to go.

MEDICC is an amazing organization that cares deeply about spreading public health knowledge and supporting the students of ELAM through a comprehensive set of programs offering scholarships, mentorships, and internships.

I didn't know about MEDICC until the earthquake in Haiti. Then I started my monthly donation until now. I know it's not too much, but is the best i can do. i'm Cuban American and i think it is the best inversion that i ever did, not for profit, but for a better life for my people. I'm proud to be a donor and i congratulate MEDICC for what they do.

I am an Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I took part in a research visit to Cuba sponsored by MEDICC in 2005 which led to several subsequent publications. In addition, one of my colleagues had a chance to learn about Cuban publishing on a MEDICC-sponsored tour in 2012. This provided us with useful contacts in Cuba.

Why do I give MEDICC a "far exceeds" rating? It is simple to go overseas, take some pictures of poor people, raise money, and then put a bandaid on things (perhaps from the window of your new Land Rover). MEDICC is particularly meritorious because it goes someplace politically unpopular and then uncovers the "inconvenient truth" that perhaps we might learn something from the Cubans. This is a very hard path to take and I commend them for taking it.

The New York Times has finally recognized that the Cuban embargo is counter-productive and that we should be collaborating with our Cuban colleagues. I think that the long, patient, and thoughtful work of MEDICC may have had something to do with this change.

MEDICC people had a presentation at the annual meetings of the International Health Section of the American Public Health Association maybe ten years ago. I feel we are partners now, both working to let the world know of Cuba’s mission. I’m a statistician. The evaluation of health programs for the poor is my area. There has never been a sound statistical evaluation of a health program. Now Sommers carried out a good evaluation. He demonstrated that young children given vitamin A were less likely to die than children not given supplemental vitamin A. But never has there been an evaluation of say a village health program. Such a program would include services that would require an MD. Cuba trains, without cost, thousands of MDs. To this statistician, who knows how my mother would have grieved had I died, the MOH of some country and the Cuban MOH might well work together to design and initiate a village health program, with a national, trained in Cuba MD. Such should, as see things, be well evaluated so as to have information to guide countries seeking to reduce child deaths. UNICEF statistics for 2010 tells us that if the world child death rate was the same as the rate in Cuba, 19,000 fewer children would die each day. There is a lot of resistance to this idea but it is decreasing. The fine work of MEDICC helps lead us toward a better world.
David J. Fitch, PhD

A wonderful organization, which is addressing two pressing problems - one, the urgent need for qualified medical practitioners all around the globe in under served and poverty stricken communities. And two, counteracting the shameful, slanderous propaganda that issues forth from the US government concerning Cuba. I have worked with young people from poor and minority communities here in the US who have participated in Cuba's medical education program at no cost to themselves, aside from the rigorous effort required to succeed. They have come back with glowing reports of the connections they made with others young activists around the world, and with a dedication to serving those in need here in the US.

The Medical Education Cooperation With Cuba is, I firmly believe, one of the most meaningful, effective, and purposeful non-profits operating today. Its concern is not profits but, instead, recognizing and promoting the health needs of people who are often unfairly neglected and even persecuted by self-serving entities. {Rich Haney}

I am a professor of health sciences at a major Canadian university. In my 10 year experience w/ MEDICC I have seen how it is a transformative organization working and succeeding in a very challenging environment. Despite these challenges, MEDICC's outreach and education activities are top of the field.

I went on one of the first medical exchanges with MEDICC in 1995 0r 1996-not sure anymore !!
It was tough and inspiring--
I grew up in Cuba during the revolution in the late 1950's and it brought tears to my eyes to see my old house and all the neglect and disrepair in Havana.
The medical school is amazing and the people were wonderful.

I have been aware of MEDICC's work with ELAM for several years. They are current and efficient and the results of their work is in evidence all around the globe where medical services are needed for those least
able to get them, especially in rural, and isolated areas.

a super group that spreads cooperation, collaboration, and learning from each other in the medical arena-travel with them was eye opening and a pleasure
R Morrow MD

I, as director of the Cuba program (public policy advocacy and education) at the Latin America Working Group, have interacted with MEDICC for years and have found them to be reliable and expert in the field of medical education cooperation with Cuba. I read their newsletters, consult their staff, and request their partnership on various of our projects concerning Cuba. They are professionals that I trust. On a very personal level, some years ago, when MEDICC sponsored a family practice medical school rotation in Cuba, my daughter, who was then a medical student at Yale University Medical School, took her family practice rotation in Cuba through MEDICC. She received full credit for this course and has valued the experience she received in Cuba. Without MEDICC, this would not have been possible. I give them the highest rating and commendation. Mavis Anderson, Latin America Working Group

I first cooperated with MEDDIC during the earthquake emergency in Haiti, and have worked with them several times since. They are competent, committed, and they follow through. Great folks doing a great job.

great work in many different areas related to Cuban healthcare

I know some of the professionals working for MEDICC and they are very committed to improving health care for all and to normalizing relations between the American and Cuban people.

I'm a former federal government employee who has seen first-hand the great work of MEDICC in Cuba, as well as the important bridge it serves to the US medical and public health community.

I recently went to Cuba on a MEDICC sponsored trip- really we done. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5- is that the accommodations could have been nicer- but that is Cuba!

I am a public health professional who participated recently in an educational exchange in Cuba through MEDICC. I had heard about the Cuban medical and public health system, but really didn't know much about it until I decided to join a MEDICC visit to the country. The week was a very thoughtfully-designed learning experience for the group of U.S. public health and medical professionals, and we had amazing access to very high-level government officials, who spent a lot of time with us explaining their health system. In addition to meeting with high-level officials, we also visited clinics and schools, and spoke with front-line health care providers. At the end of the week, I had a much clearer understanding of the Cuban system -- both its strengths and some of its weaknesses -- and I was able to bring some of the lessons back to the state where I work. Cuba does have a lot of lessons for us, and there is enormous potential for partnerships and work with our Cuban colleagues. MEDICC fills an important niche, since there aren't a lot of nonprofits working on this important issue.

As an advisor/consultant within development cooperation on health with WHO, Sida (Sweden), ICRC, ActionAid and others, a university lecturer on public health in Uppsala I have seen Cuban health teams in action in several African countries. I have also studied the Cuban health services on five tours with medical personnal from Sweden. Much of what I have seen and experienced is explained and documented in Medicc. I think its quality and usefulness merit more international recognition.

MEDICC has been a great source of information and analysis since the Ebola crises about the role Cuba is playing in West Africa to fight back against the disease, as well as about US-Cuba relations. I also have been amazed by their work spreading the word on the Cuban community health model and ELAM, the Latin American School of Medicine. I look forward to following and supporting MEDICC's work in the years to come!

Both of my children attend the Latin America School of Medicine in Cuba. MEDICC provides them with a lot of support and provides the public with very useful and meaningful education about health care practices and policies in Cuba, policies that change the lives of so many around the world. As my kids progress through the medical school education I am becoming more and more impressed by Cuba's dedication to education and providing health care for all. I try to spread the word to everyone, I know. Thanks to MEDICC for your great posts, Ted TAlks etc. and for providing support of study materials and testing fees for the students who attend ELAM from the U.S.

I have been involved with MEDICC since 2007, when I assisted in the establishment of a mentor program for the US students attending the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana. I also have been the MEDICC representative on both People to People and research programs in Cuba. Although relatively small, yet nimble, the organization does a superb job in educating American health care professionals about not only the Cuban health care system, but also its complex society. I have traveled to Cuba many times since 1978 and MEDICC is the best organization I know of to learn about this rapidly changing country.

Cuba is considered by many people as a world leader in health care, providing for all its citizens as well as to millions of others around the globe. Based on the belief that sharing expertise and effective practices will improve health outcomes for everyone, MEDICC works to foster cooperation among health care workers in the U.S., Cuba, and other parts of the world. What could be more basic to human well-being than ensuring improved health, particularly for the world’s poor? MEDICC’s wide-ranging program includes, among many other things, the sponsorship of educational exchanges, financial and professional support for students and graduates of the Latin American Medical School, publication of a journal focused on Cuban health and medicine, and economic assistance following natural disasters. This broad-based program demonstrates the vision that "Health for All Is Possible. "

As a correspondent in the United States, I have been interested in what Cuba has done with health care over the years. MEDICC is an exceptional organization which studies what Cuba does with health care and helps the US understand what we could use from their ideas. MEDICC promotes public health ethics and responsibility and it helps students returning from studying in Cuba to become productive citizens in the US. We would benefit from more organizations like MEDICC.

Over the past 5 years I have worked with MEDICC in many ways. I have been part of the MEDICC's Community Partnerships for Health Equity. Along with colleagues in the healthcare safety net in Oakland, Ca, I travelled twice to Cuba to learn about their successes in healthcare in the face of very limited resources. The visits were very well-organized and informative, allowing us to bring "lessons learned" home to our own institutions. I am now a member of MEDICC's advisory council and have volunteered in other ways with the organization. MEDICC greatly facilitates the understanding by Americans of the significant strengths of the Cuban medical system including the emphasis on primary care and prevention and the merging of public health and the delivery of health care. This provides opportunities to improve our own healthcare system. MEDICC is a very effective organization with an important mission.

MEDICC is a multifaceted organization dedicated to enhancing collaborative efforts among diverse, global communities aimed at better health outcomes and equity for all. My experience in working with MEDICC has been to enhance medical school education for American Indians to become physicians. There is a huge disparity in the number of American Indians physicians in the United State. As former Surgeon General/Medical Director of the Navajo Nation, MEDICC worked in collaboration with the Navajo Nation government to look at innovative partnerships to develop the next generation of Navajo physicians. American Indians share the burden of huge health disparities among minority populations. We will be better equipped to address our health challenges by increasing the number of American Indian health professionals and through efforts such as MEDICC

hi i am dahlgren M. Geografia,i am frist year.i am studiying of immaculate conception parochial school.

MEDICC is an exemplary program of education, exchange and public health, in Cuba and in several programs discovering and developing ways to add dimension and depth from Cuban accomplishments to similar programs in the United States, especially in California. MEDICC, most recently, has been critically active in facilitating the incorporation of integrative medicine into Cuba's clinical practice, medical education and research. The name of Cuba's breast cancer support group, "Alas por la Vida" (Wings for Life), could serve as well as a description of MEDICC's accomplishments.

As a graduate from the Instituto Superior de Ciencias Medicas de la Habana (Havana's medical school) I am thrilled that an organization such as Medicc is out there... Cuba's Health care system is an example of what preventive medicine should be and of how good intentions and hard work can reform and change a nation. MEDICC shares Cuba's unique story and experience and mediates a debate among not only cuban health care professionals but among anyone interested in learning about Cuba.

I first learned of MEDICC in 2002, and have followed their work over the last decade. They are solidly managed and have a clear and important purpose. Most recently I had the pleasure of attending a meeting where community health personnel, from county directors to community workers, from many parts of the US attested to the significant impact that MEDICC, through its exchanges, had in their communities. My lasting thought was how much we too in the US can learn from our colleagues in Cuba.

Right on!

I am a health writer and lecturer, who frequently visits many countries around the world, focusing on equity and ethics in health care. I came to learn from my many visits to Cuba, the value of their health system, in terms of training, access, and outcomes. MEDICC has been a remarkable vehicle for insuring that these best practices, and the ongoing research in Cuba is made available to respective parties in the U.S.
The difference MEDICC has made for myself and many others in the field of health and medicine is immeasurable.

MEDICC is a great source of information about what one small nation is doing that we in the US should be doing to make the world a better place for humanity. The US sends missiles; Cuba sends doctors. MEDICC publishes well documented article about what Cuban doctors are doing, making it more likely that more people will insist on our country following their lead.

Medicc represents what is probably the most important relationship between the US and Cuba in 55 years. While others play politics, Medicc works to save lives in both countries by facilitating access to information and collaboration between those in the health and medical fields of both countries.

I have been a member of the board for 15 years and Editor-in-Chief of the organization's open access medical journal, "MEDICC Review" for about 5 years. I'm particularly proud of the journal's staff and contributors for helping to bring the accomplishments and struggles of the Cuban National Health System to international attention. Cuba's successes in improvement of health status in an environment of very limited resources is a beacon of hope for much of the developing world. MEDICC's ability to help others understand the principles of the Cuban approach has contributed to the improvement of health in many other countries.

Joining the Board of Directors of MEDICC has been an inspiring experience. I have rarely worked with a staff as dedicated to and motivated by the goals of the MEDICC mission. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I also can vouch for the integrity of the budgeting and accounting system, one that carefully considers every dollar spent to accomplish the MEDICC mission. There can be no doubt that MEDICC has contributed to promoting the health of the Cuban population as well as the population's of other countries through their support of a medical model that emphasizes preventive health measures.

MEDICC allows us to cross the political divide between the US and Cuba, so that health professionals and all Americans working towards better health and health equity can share experiences with Cuban colleagues and communities, and also bring back lessons from the Cuban experience--a country that has the lowest infant mortality in the developing world and many health indicators on par with the US at a fraction of th cost. MEDICC also publishes MEDICC Review, indexed in Medline and Thomson/Reuters, the only English-language journal regularly featuring results of Cuban research on health strategies, new vaccines and medicines, and clinical findings--and the journal publishes other authors mainly from developing countries. MEDICC is unique, effective, and worth supporting.

MEDICC is an organization which is uniquely impacting healthcare practice in this country. It serves as the major conduit of information and shared lessons between the US and Cuban healthcare systems through its peer reviewed medical journal and educational trips. MEDICC also contributes significantly to building a culturally-competent, diverse healthcare workforce through its support of US medical students enrolled in ELAM. MEDICC supports and facilitates collaboration within communities that can directly impact health outcomes and quality of care for community members, through lessons learned from Cuba. It is, in all respects, a truly wonderful organization that merits national recognition.

MEDICC provides an opportunity for health professionals and learners in the US to learn from and share experiences with those who work and learn in the Cuban health care system. The organization is dedicated to high-quality interactions between and among those whose interest is focused on improving the health of populations.

MEDICC challenges us to think globally about the right to health and the lessons to be learned form resource poor settings such as Cuba. Despite resource limitations Cuba has achieved much with regards to medicine and public health. Given the global economic crisis and US health reform a page may be taken from the Cuban experience about how to efficiently and successfully serve the populations whose health we seek to improve as health professionals.

MEDICC not only publishes an excellent public health journal and creates the exchange of public health ideas between the US and CUba, it also supports US students and alumni of the Latin American Medical School (ELAM, for its Spanish acronym) so they may return home and work in underserved communities as physicians.

MEDICC is an incredible organization that works to build cooperation between Cuba and the US. I am a medical student at the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba. MEDICC has affected me in many ways: by providing logistical support for our transition from medical students in Cuba to physicians in the US, creating scholarships so we can complete all the necessary licensing exams for US residency, and connecting us with doctors and community leaders in healthcare in the US. These connections create a foundation for our work as physicians in medically under-served areas later in our careers. The students at my school would be vastly less prepared for residency and practice in the US healthcare system without the assistance and support of MEDICC.

MEDICC is helping to change the face of healthcare in the U.S. Literally. They are the most important supporters of U.S. graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine, and have helped to create a support network for us as we return home to serve after graduation. Our students are selected by their willingness and ability to work in underserved areas upon graduation, and we are mostly students of color: African American, Latino, and other. Even though there is a huge need, and a shortage of doctors willing to work in these areas, we still face many challenges as international medical graduates. MEDICC has helped to destroy some of these barriers, by increasing our access to study materials, supportive networks, and funding to offset some of the expenses involved in becoming licensed here. They also support other (non-U.S.) graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine in their work across the globe.

I had the opportunity to travel to Cuba with a MEDICC-sponsored group from Albuquerque, New Mexico in May of 2012. In addition to supporting U.S. students at the Latin American Medical School in Cuba, MEDICC has developed Community Partnerships for Health Equity (CPHE) in three U.S. cities. The group from Albuquerque had a chance to experience first-hand Cuban community based public health programs and understand how Cuba has achieved such positive health outcomes. We exercised with "abuelos" (grandparents) in Havana, made home visits with a family doctor and nurse in a new urban housing co-op, talked and danced into the night with a local block association and visited an "organoponico" (organic farm) on the outskirts of the city. They will continue to meet back home in Albuquerque to apply what they learned in Cuba to the health issues faced by their own community. What a great way to break down barriers and promote understanding. It was definitely a transformative experience for the group and for me as well!

I am a student at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Cuba, a full scholarship program that graduates over 10,000 students a year to work in uderserved communities. I am so grateful to MEDICC for their work with the students. They help us with a lot of the logistical issues of coming back to the states and getting into residency so that we can fulfill our dreams of working in underserved communities here in our home country. Thank you MEDICC!