Through the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program,  Health & Medicine cultivates aspiring health and human services professionals to be informed, concerned and involved with addressing health inequities.  Each year, the Schweitzer Program provides 30 exceptional  students with opportunities to design and implement projects to improve the health and well-being of underserved Chicago communities. Fellows’ projects often address the social determinants of health, and their activities frequently include tutoring, violence prevention, health education, healthy lifestyles promotion, and outreach to vulnerable and marginalized groups. Four years ago we successfully established a “Fellows for Life” alumni program to enhance our graduates’ further development as leaders in service, and to provide them with continuing networking, skill-building and community service opportunities.

• Since 1996,  375 Chicago Schweitzer Fellows have completed 75,000 hours of community service, at over 100 community-based sites.
• 2,688 Chicago residents were served by our Fellows’ projects in 2008.  A majority (91%) of residents were low to moderate income.
• To address the nation’s  growing nursing shortage, we partnered with Rush University to pilot a project through which Fellows for Life are mentoring underrepresented student nurses.
• In October, 2009 we hosted the national “Fellows for Life” conference in Chicago, during which over 150 Schweitzer alumni from across the US  shared best practices to improve health and access to care.