Community Partner: Center for Closing the Health Gap
The Center for Closing the Health Gap has been working for over 20 years to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in the greater Cincinnati area. Their work has focused on the principle that the people most affected by health disparities must lead the movement for change. Through education, advocacy, and collaboration, Closing the Health Gap has strived to ensure everyone has the opportunity to live a healthier life, regardless of background.
With a focus on prevention as the key driver of health, Closing the Health Gap works with local leaders and organizations to best identify initiatives that meet the needs of the communities they serve. Initiatives have ranged from educational and outreach programs, community health screenings, and large-scale community research with local organizations and the city government. All the initiatives carried out by The Center for Closing the Health Gap focus on one thing: improving the outcomes of Black, Latinx, and Appalachian communities.
About Hassan
I was born in Pakistan, where I lived for 2 years before my family moved half-way across the world to Ohio. I grew up in Toledo and eventually attended The Ohio State University, where I majored in Neuroscience with a minor in City and Regional Planning. Growing up an immigrant, the value of caring for the entire community was always held with the utmost importance and was integral to me pursuing medicine.
In medical school I continued to explore my interests in community healthcare. I started an advocacy club that focused on the intersection of urban planning and healthcare and helped facilitate preventative health classes with community Family Medicine physicians. I took part in the Medical Spanish and Latino Health program, where I was able to learn more about other immigrant communities and their experiences with the healthcare system.
I aim to work as a primary care physician with the aim of bridging healthcare disparities faced by new immigrants in our nation’s urban cores. Through participating in the Service and Advocacy elective, I hope to develop the skills needed to collaborate with and advocate for the communities I will be a part of in the future.