History

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show 40.5 million Latinos in a U.S. population of 285.7 million in 2004, or 14 percent of the total U.S. population. Latinos are the largest and fastest minority group in the U.S.

Between now and 2020, Latinos are expected to account for about half the growth of the U.S. labor force. The bureau estimates that immigration and natural increases are adding 1.5 million Latinos annually, a growth rate that will make them nearly 25 percent of the population by 2050.

As the nation becomes more diverse, the need and demand for culturally competent physicians will increase. Latinos continue to be underrepresented in medical professions, scientific research on critical health problems and as faculty in academic medicine. In an effort to help overcome these shortages, the Hispanic Center of Excellence was established in 1991.

Mission

The Mission of the Hispanic Center of Excellence is:
To increase the capacity of UIC College of Medicine to admit and graduate a greater number of Latino physicians

Goals

• Provide faculty development to train, recruit and retain Latino faculty, including payment of stipends and fellowships.
• Focus on Latino health issues in information resources, clinical education, and curricula.
• Facilitate faculty and student research in Latino health.
• Provide community-based clinical training in which students care for significant numbers of Latino patients.
• Enhance the overall experience of Latino medical students.
• Develop a competitive applicant pool (in conjunction with several partner organizations).
• Promote awareness and raise funds for scholarship support.
• Develop international partnerships with medical schools in Latin America.
• Collaborate with College of Medicine departments in providing Continued Medical Education (CMEs) for Latino physicians in the Chicago area.

Accomplishments

The Hispanic Center of Excellence (HCOE) at UIC College of Medicine has gained national recognition for its recruitment and graduation of Latino students in medicine. The Center is one of ten Hispanic Centers of Excellence in the country and the only one in the Midwest.

• In 2007, UIC COM had the largest Latino incoming class in the country with 40 of 307 medical students.  HCOE outnumbered Texas, California, New York and Florida.
  
• 27 Latinos of 265 (10.2%) graduating students received their Medical Degrees from UIC.
  
• The AAMC reports that in Illinois, two out of three Latinos who earned an MD degree graduated from UIC. There are seven medical schools in the state.
  
• “Hispanic Business Magazine” September 2007, ranked UIC College of Medicine one of the top 10 medical schools for Hispanics.
  
• From 1973-2007 UIC graduated 904 Latino physicians.
  
• Latino faculty at UIC increased to 5% of the total, or 2% higher that the U.S. average.  We added two more Latino junior faculty this past year.  Since 2000 we have had 12 HCOE Latino Faculty Fellows at the College of Medicine.
  
• The number of Hispanic medical students involved in research has tripled since 1998, from 5 to 17 medical students participated in the HCOE Summer Medical Student Research Fellowship.
  
• 174 Latino medical students were enrolled at the UIC College of Medicine for the 2006-2007 academic year. This represents 11% of the total student body.  
  
• The HCOE Network has had a total of 1863 members since 1995.  At least 100 students attend each Grand Rounds presentation.
  
• The HCOE Medicina Scholars program had 64 premedical students enrolled throughout the year, each student making a three-year commitment to complete the program.