Division of Community Medicine
The Division of Community Medicine works collaboratively with community partners to improve the health of communities and families from diverse backgrounds and cultures through innovation and leadership in community engagement, addiction medicine, correctional healthcare, and the delivery of exemplary primary care. Saint Louis University Department of Family and Community Medicine has implemented several affiliations and initiatives to engage and encourage community leadership and advocacy among students, staff, residents, fellows, and faculty.
Community Clinical Collaborations
St. Louis County Department of Public Health
- Our department physicians have been providing medical and educational services to the Saint Louis County Health Centers since 2013
- Our department physicians have been providing medical and educational services to the Correctional Healthcare Program at the Saint Louis County Jail and Juvenile Detention at Family Court since 2001
City of St. Louis 22nd Court, Juvenile Detention
- Our department physicians and advanced practice providers have provided primary care and health education to residents and staff in the family courts programs since 2020.
Missouri State Opioid Response
- Our physicians have provided training, development of learning materials, and other subject-matter expertise as consultants for the Missouri State Opioid Response Team. This work has brought our physicians into all the health systems in the region as well as federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, and certified community behavioral clinics throughout the state.
Community Engagement and Leadership
Saint Louis University School of Law, Center for Health Law Studies
Established in 1982, SLU LAW's Center for Health Law Studies was one of the first law school programs to focus on the intersection of health care and legal systems. For the last 16 years, the center has earned its reputation as the nation's premier health law program.
Some recent sponsored research collaborations include:
- Model Pharmacist Collaboration for Medication for Addiction Treatment Act, sponsored by the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association.
- HealthSPAN, formerly the Health Policy Research in Action initiative, is a cross-campus, transdisciplinary network to promote health policy research that fosters transformative research, education, service, and advocacy to improve access to quality, affordable, equitable health and public health services guided by our Jesuit identity. In addition to nurturing and supporting cross-campus collaborative research teams, HealthSPAN partners with community groups and agencies to advance their goals by leveraging the lived experiences of community agencies and the tools of a research university. The initiative emphasizes translating research into action by informing and engaging public policymakers, health leaders, media and community members.
- Educational programs: Faculty in our department have participated in the Distinguished Speaker Series, the Annual Health Law Symposium, and the Health Law Scholars Workshop.