FIU joins First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to help take care of veterans and families

As part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces initiative, announced this week, FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine has joined medical schools around the nation in pledging commitment to creating a new generation of doctors, medical schools, and research facilities that will make sure America’s heroes receive medical care worthy of their service.

Recognizing veterans and their families’ sacrifice and commitment, FIU pledged to mobilize its uniquely integrated missions in education, research, and clinical care to train the nation’s physicians to meet veterans and their families’ unique health care needs, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

“Our mission is to educate a new generation of doctors uniquely suited to take care of our own community,” said FIU Wertheim College of Medicine Founding Dean Dr. John Rock. “Our veterans are a large and important part of our community and we want to be sure we graduate doctors who are prepared to help our veterans have healthy, productive lives.”

Committing to the Joining Forces initiative is a natural step for FIU, which has one of the largest populations of veterans among state universities in Florida and offers an out-of-state tuition waiver for undergraduate veterans. FIU has made the GI Jobs magazine list of military friendly schools for three consecutive years.

“I’m inspired to see our nation’s medical schools step up to address this pressing need for our veterans and military families. By directing some of our brightest minds, our most cutting-edge research, and our finest teaching institutions toward our military families, they’re ensuring that those who have served our country receive the first-rate care that they have earned,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.

Together, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), FIU and more than 100 other medical schools around the nation are committing to enriching medical education along its continuum to ensure that physicians are aware of the unique clinical challenges and best practices associated with caring for this group; develop new research and clinical trials on PTSD and TBI so that we can better understand and treat these conditions; share their information and best practices with each other through a collaborative web forum created by the AAMC; and grow the body of knowledge leading to improvements in health care and wellness for our military service members, veterans, and their families.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden created Joining Forces to bring Americans together to recognize, honor and take action to support veterans and military families as they serve our country and throughout their lives. The initiative aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of society to ensure veterans and military families have the support they have earned. The initiative focuses on key priority areas – employment, education, and wellness while raising awareness about the service, sacrifice, and needs of America’s veterans and military families. More information is available at: www.JoiningForces.gov.

Media Contact: Maydel Santana-Bravo at 305-348-1555.