CLEVELAND – Today, the Saint Luke’s Foundation announces a $916,000, 10-year “transformational” grant to the University Hospitals Case Medical Center’s (UHCMC) Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to create the Timothy L. Stephens, Jr., MD, Orthopaedic Fellowship. This unique fellowship program is designed to increase the number of African-American, Latino and Native American medical students pursuing careers in orthopaedic medicine.
The fellowship grant, the Saint Luke’s Foundation’s eighth transformational initiative, will be formally announced today at 10 a.m. at the University Hospitals Otis Moss, Jr. Health Center, 8819 Quincy Avenue in Cleveland.
The Fellowship is named in honor of Timothy L. Stephens Jr., MD, the first African-American orthopaedic surgeon in the state of Ohio and the first African-American orthopaedic attending physician in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UHCMC. Dr. Stephens is known as a renaissance surgeon and his career is exemplary for his clinical practice, leadership, teaching and public service. Dr. Stephens, now a resident of Shaker Heights, served as director of the Saint Luke’s Hospital Orthopaedic Residency Program from 1994-1996 and then again from 1998-1999. He was president of the medical staff in 1989 and served as president of the Ohio State Medical Board in 1988 and 1989.
“This Fellowship is a strong match with the Saint Luke’s Foundation’s interest in building a strong, diverse, healthcare workforce that understands the needs of our multicultural, global community. This kind of opportunity will help to reduce the healthcare disparities that exist today,” said Denise San Antonio Zeman, president and CEO of the Saint Luke’s Foundation. “The program will go a long way toward improving access to hands-on clinical and research experience for underrepresented minorities considering the field of orthopaedics, and we couldn’t be more pleased to honor Dr. Stephens’ incredible contributions to the field by encouraging promising African-American medical students to follow in his footsteps,” Ms. Zeman added.
Designed as a one-year intensive clinical and basic science mentoring program, University Hospitals Case Medical Center’s (UHCMC) Department of Orthopaedic Surgery will select one African-American, Latino or Native American medical school student each year, who will, upon completion of their basic science curriculum in years one and two, receive intensive exposure to musculoskeletal research. Additionally, the Fellow will participate in a specialized clinical research project and gain crucial real-world clinical experience working with underserved populations in Cleveland.
Richard E. Grant, MD, who currently holds the Edgar B. Jackson, Jr., MD, Endowed Chair in Clinical Excellence and Diversity at University Hospitals, will supervise the fellow in the laboratory, facilitate research presentations and provide him or her with an opportunity for residencies. A portion of the fellow’s time will be spent at University Hospitals Otis Moss Jr. Health Center in addition to Case Medical Center.
“By providing opportunities for African-American, Latino and Native American medical students to pursue careers in orthopaedic medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and the Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland are poised to bring about profound change in the disparities that exist within the academic realm of medicine as well as in the delivery of health care services to minority patients,” said Randall Marcus, MD, Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. “It is our hope that the Timothy L. Stephens, Jr., MD, Orthopaedic Fellowship will provide select medical school students with the opportunity for exposure to orthopaedics and the chance to pursue a career as a specialist and/or scientist in the field.”