In the summer of 2000, a group of Mount Sinai medical students banded together to explore ways to more fully connect with the East Harlem community neighboring the campus. We saw a large volume of uninsured patients in this neighborhood. This became the impetus for the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP). According to the 2006 Department of Health “Take Care New York Survey”, East Harlem ranks in the bottom quarter of New York City neighborhoods when it comes to having a regular doctor, being tobacco-free, keeping heart-healthy, knowing HIV status, getting help for depression, living free of alcohol and drugs, making the home safe and healthy, and having a healthy baby. Concrete statistics on our neighborhood can be found on www.nyc.gov.

EHHOP functions as a primary care clinic where students serve as patient care clinical teams, lab personnel, administration, patient advocates, and social work liaisons. Importantly, EHHOP often serves as the first step for many patients with potentially disabling acute and chronic medical conditions to obtain much needed medical care, long-term disease management, and education.

Since its opening in May 2004, twelve to eighteen patients visit EHHOP each week, and over 400 patients have utilized EHHOP services. EHHOP is staffed each week by approximately 15 Mount Sinai medical students from all class years, two volunteer attending physicians and a social worker from the Mount Sinai Department of Social Work. EHHOP is managed behind the scenes by a dedicated Steering Committee composed of 15 medical students and two Mount Sinai faculty members. Today, more than 60% of the student body and nearly 60 Mount Sinai physicians volunteer their time in EHHOP every year.

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