The ACC joined with the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), American Heart Association, National Medical Association, National Minority Quality Forum, the W. Montague COBB/NMA Health Institute and the Association for Academic Minority Physicians in applauding the recent announcement by Bloomberg Philanthropies that it will invest $100 million in the schools of medicine at four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The groups called the action "a definitive step forward in the support of Black communities, education of Black professionals and elimination of health disparities" and stressed the importance of the investment at a time when COVID-19 continues to further reveal health disparities across the U.S.

This investment matters, the groups said. ABC Board Chair and Professor of Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine Elizabeth Ofili, MD, MPH, noted that "helping medical students graduate with less debt, opens up new opportunities for them to serve the community as practicing physicians, biomedical scientists and educators."

"A diverse medical profession is critical to meeting the needs of all patients and a key strategic priority for the American College of Cardiology," said ACC President Athena Poppas, MD, FACC. "The unprecedented $100 million donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies to HBCU medical schools will have a profound impact on diversity within medicine and reducing health disparities."

The Bloomberg endowment follows other recent major investments in HBCUs and the United Negro College Fund, including gifts from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin, and novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

Read the full joint statement. For more on ACC's Diversity and Inclusion efforts visit ACC.org/Diversity.

Clinical Topics: Cardiovascular Care Team

Keywords: Schools, Medical, Universities, Students, Medical, American Heart Association, Gift Giving, Minority Groups, Investments, African Americans

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