Medical Schools and Health Systems Receive $400,000 to Enhance Patient Trust

Projects will enhance health equity training and foster a more trustworthy health care system

Today, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), the ABIM Foundation, the American College of Physicians (ACP), and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation announced that $400,000 has been awarded to 15 medical schools and health systems across the United States to improve medical education and training to build a more trustworthy health system.

Examples of projects funded through the Building Trust Through Diversity, Health Care Equity, Inclusion and Diagnostic Excellence in Internal Medicine Training grant program include:

• Alameda Health System – Highland Hospital is developing a home visit curriculum to deepen residents’ understanding of social determinants of health impacting their communities.
• The University of Chicago is evaluating physician notes for bias and conducting patient focus groups to inform the creation of an evidence-based curriculum addressing clinician bias toward patients with sickle cell disease.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center is creating medical simulation training to improve health care professionals’ competency in providing inclusive care to LGBTQ+ patients and testing guidelines for supporting transgender and gender-diverse patients.

“We congratulate the recipients of the Building Trust grant program,” said AAIM President and CEO Polly E. Parsons, MD, MACP, FCCP, ATSF. “These innovative projects are pivotal in weaving DEI into the core of internal medicine education and enrich our commitment to a more inclusive and equitable health care environment.”

“ACP is proud to be a part of the movement toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical education, as demonstrated by the projects being granted today,” said Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PhD, MACP, President of ACP. “This work is essential to building a more equitable system that benefits physicians, health care workers, and the communities they serve.”

Grants range from $10,000 to $40,000 based on the program’s scope, and support inter-professional projects that are led by internal medicine residents, fellows, and faculty, and that focus on improving trust and advancing health equity. Of the total funding, $100,000 is dedicated to projects that are focused on both enhancing diagnostic excellence and health equity.

These grants bring the total amount dedicated to addressing health inequities by sponsors to nearly $1.6 million. In 2021, $287,500 was awarded to 32 projects, in 2022, $400,000 was awarded to 24 projects, and in 2023, $470,000 was awarded to 20 projects.

“These grants are a part of our ongoing commitment to building more inclusive and trustworthy health care systems,” said Richard Baron, MD, MACP, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation. “By investing in health equity training, we’re improving an important dimension of the quality of medical education and addressing the systemic inequities that have long undermined patient trust. These innovative and collaborative projects help to foster a health system where every patient feels respected, understood, and confident in the care they receive.”

Organizations that received grant funding in 2024 include:

• Alameda Health System – Highland Hospital
• Henry Ford Health
• Medical University of South Carolina
• Meharry Medical College
• Northwell Health
• Phoenix Indian Medical Center, Indian Health Service
• Southern Regional Medical Center
• The University of Chicago
• University of Maryland Capital Region Health
• University of Minnesota
• University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• University of Washington
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Washington University*
• Zuckerberg San Francisco General, University of California-San Francisco

*Awarded two grants

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About the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine
AAIM represents over 12,000 academic internal medicine faculty and administrators at medical schools and community-based teaching hospitals in the US and Canada. Its mission is to promote the advancement and professional development of its members, who prepare the next generation of internal medicine physicians and leaders through education, research, engagement, and collaboration. Follow AAIM on Twitter @AAIMOnline.

About the American Board of Internal Medicine
Since its founding in 1936 to answer a public call to establish more uniform standards for physicians, certification by the ABIM has stood for the highest standard in internal medicine and its 21 subspecialties. Certification has meant that internists have demonstrated – to their peers and to the public – that they have the clinical judgment, skills and attitudes essential for the delivery of excellent patient care. ABIM is not a membership society, but a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization. Our accountability is both to the profession of medicine and to the public.

About the ABIM Foundation
The ABIM Foundation’s mission is to advance medical professionalism to improve the health care system by collaborating with physicians and physician leaders, medical trainees, health care delivery systems, payers, policymakers, consumer organizations and patients to foster a shared understanding of professionalism and how they can adopt the tenets of professionalism in practice. To learn more about the ABIM Foundation, visit www.abimfoundation.org and connect on LinkedIn.

About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area. Visit www.moore.org or follow @MooreFound.

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