Medical Society plans to secure future for young Black doctors
DENVER — The Mile High Medical Society (MHMS) is funding scholarship opportunities for young aspiring medical professionals of color.
In an attempt to get more African American students in the medical field, the Mile High Medical Society has teamed up with the University of Colorado to cover most of the financial expenses to students admitted into the University of Colorado Medical School who meet the scholarship requirements.
This is just one attempt of many by the Mile High Medical Society to create opportunities for the younger generations of medical professionals according to Dr. Johnny Johnson MD, a licensed physician in obstetrics and gynecology, and president of the Mile High Medical Society. “There have been other programs like this, but not as big,” said Johnson.
The Mile High Medical Society has been around since 1965 and is a chapter of the National Medical Association. It was reestablished in 2015, led by Dr. Johnson MD and a group of Black healthcare professionals committed to helping African Americans. In addition to being a resource in the health arena, specifically to medical issues like COVID-19 that is affecting the African American communities, the organization is involved in social issues such as racism which is a public health crisis. Goal of the organization is to promote health and wellness and eliminate health disparities by raising awareness.
The scholarship will be named after Dr. Charles Blackwood, who was the first African American to graduate from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The society elected to rename the fund the Charles J. Blackwood, MD, Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund, specifically to memorialize his legacy.
“The scholarships are a tool of recruitment more than anything else. We want to develop a pipeline to help students in the future. The first scholarship was awarded to Marcus Marable in 2017 who is from Arizona,” said Johnson.
The scholarship will cover all four years of medical school. Two major requirements for the scholarship are the student has to be admitted into the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the student has to be a person of color.
Johnson wants to help these students graduate and perform better by taking away as much stress as possible. “If students don’t have to worry about school expenses, then they could direct their focus towards other things. All their focus could go towards their studies, networking, extracurricular activities or anything that could benefit them in the future,” he said. “We want to get more African American students in the medical field. We encourage, recruit, mentor and financially take care of the students.”
To reach its goal, MHMS has raised $1,000,000. The Dean of CU School of Medicine has pledged to match the funds, dollar-for-dollar.
Editor’s note: The initial scholarships will be awarded this summer. For more information or to make a donation, email milehighmedicalsociety@gmail.com or visit www.milehighmedicalsociety.org.