UMass Chan Medical School
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The Leading by Example Program (LBE) was created by Governor Deval Patrick’s Executive Order 484 in 2007 with the purpose to set aggressive targets to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumption for building owned and operated by the commonwealth of Massachusetts. UMass Medical School participates in bimonthly LBE meetings which allows for collaboration and information sharing amongst various state agencies, authorities and public colleges and universities.

The Building Brighter Futures program was launched in 2002 by the United Way of Central Massachusetts in partnership with UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School. The program is designed to help youth transition successfully to adulthood, earn extra spending money and gain real-world exposure to career options. This program allows for approximately 25 high school students from the Worcester Public Schools to gain work experience during a 6 week summer internship program. Some of the participating departments include Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety, and various research departments, and Housekeeping. As a result students are often time assisting in sustainability initiatives include recycling, building energy performance, hazardous waste reductions and lab safety, as well as can gain experience in a laboratory environment.

UMass Medical School works with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) to bring more more efficient and user-friendly transportation options to the Medical School and Hospital. The partnership focuses on coordinating transportation efforts between to WRTA and UMass Medical School. On a annual basis UMMS conduct a transportation survey to assist is determining the needs of the campus as it relates to public transportation. The partnership also provides a benefit to the wider community as well since, increased convenience of public transportation to Medical School also mean easier transportation options to the Hospital for community members.

UMass Medical School was awarded a highly competitive National Chidren's Study (NCS)contract in October 2007. UMMS was the only institution in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to win its own NCS contract. Beginning in the summer of 2009, Dr. Marianne Felice, chair of pediatrics at UMMS and physician-in-chief of the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center, and her team have been aided by a small army of field researchers, environmental experts, obstetricians, pediatricians, nurses and community leaders to recruit 1,000 infants from Worcester County - before they are born, or in some cases conceived – and closely track them until their 21st birthdays. The data the team collects about the children’s health and environments will be vast. Children from Worcester County will be part of a cohort of 100,000 enrolled over the course of five years through 105 sites across the country in an unprecedented effort to provide vital new insights into the effects of environmental and genetic factors on human growth, development and disease. Conclusions of the NCS are expected to help the United States set environmental, social and health policy that will affect millions of people for generations to come.