The UMass Chan Medical School Department of Family Medicine & Community Health is recognizing World Refugee Day on Tuesday, June 20, with the launch of a new refugee health initiative in honor of the late Thomas Zand, MD, a local pediatrician, child of Holocaust survivors and advocate for children, refugees and education.
“The goal is really to bring awareness of refugee crisis and refugee health and the refugees living in our community and organizations that serve them,” said Olga Valdman, MD’09, assistant professor of family medicine & community health, and one of the event’s organizers.
The Thomas Zand initiative includes:
- Thomas Zand Lectureship on Refugee Health, established to engage and recognize national leaders in this field. Lectureship recipients will deliver an annual talk on refugee health to the UMass Chan community of learners, faculty and staff, and engage with local refugee-serving community organizations. The inaugural Thomas Zand Refugee Health Award recipient is Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, MD, professor of obstetrics & gynecology and population & quantitative health sciences, and executive director of the UMass Chan Collaborative in Health Equity.
- Thomas Zand Refugee Health Community Award, given annually to recognize the work done by Worcester community organizations working with newly arriving refugees and immigrants.
- Thomas Zand Refugee Health Scholarship, provided to UMass Chan learners passionate about care for refugees and immigrants, will support attendance at the North American Refugee Health Conference.
- World Refugee Day Thomas Zand events on Tuesday, June 20.
As many as 10 community organizations are expected to be represented at the June 20 event, including African Community Education, Ascentria Care Alliance, Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center, Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Services, United Way of Central Massachusetts, Welcoming Alliance for Refugee Ministry, the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project, and others.
“We’re really hoping to make this an event of pride and opportunity for everyone to learn about one another, and for the UMass Chan community to connect with the greater Worcester community around this important issue and for us to come together as a bigger community to really support the newly arriving refugees and immigrants to Worcester,” Dr. Valdman said. “With just a little bit of support from all of us, the new arrivals can really thrive, and give so much to our community in return.”
World Refugee Day activities on June 20 will include a Grand Round by Dr. Johnson-Agbakwu from noon to 1 p.m. Participants can join in-person in the Amphitheater on the UMass Memorial Medical Center Memorial campus or via Zoom.
The Refugee Health Award ceremony will follow from 3-5 p.m. in The Cube on the third floor of the Albert Sherman Center at UMass Chan Medical School. Attendees must RSVP for the event. Community organizations will have tables showcasing their work and international food from local vendors will be provided.
