Director of TRIUMPH program wins inaugural Community Impact Award
Contact: Ian Clark, iclark@uwhealth.org, (608) 890-5641
MADISON, Wis. — Dr. Cynthia Haq, professor of family medicine and population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, was awarded the inaugural Community Impact Award, presented by the Medical Society of Milwaukee County (MSMC).
In January, the MSMC honored three community leaders during an awards ceremony at its 167th Annual Dinner in Milwaukee.
“Without these individuals in our community, health care would not be what it is today,” said Dr. Julie Schuller, president of the MSMC. “We honored three amazing leaders who have challenged systems, built collaborations and championed quality health care for the underserved. These are people who, with courage, vision and compassion devote themselves to turning obstacles into opportunities.”
The Medical Society honors individuals, both members and non-members, who make a positive impact on the health of the community.
Haq is the director of the Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health (TRIUMPH) program in Milwaukee. The program is designed to recruit and train students to become community-responsive physician leaders and provide those students with experience in addressing the health needs of underserved urban populations. Students spend the third and fourth years of medical school in a variety of clinical settings throughout the greater Milwaukee area and participate in a public health project with a community partner. TRIUMPH students work with nearly two dozen nonprofit health-driven organizations in the area.
“This award is an honor, not just for me, but for our students, TRIUMPH faculty and staff, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and our community partners,” said Haq. “Milwaukee is a beautiful city with great people, organizations, diversity and resources. It is a privilege to learn from and work with people who are working to promote equity and reduce health disparities. The challenges are deep and wide. We have a great deal of hard work ahead.”
In addition to Haq’s work with medical students in TRIUMPH, she also trains family doctors at the Aurora Family Care Center, volunteers to care for people without health insurance at the City on a Hill clinic, and works with organizations that promote health and provide access to care for people in need, such as the Center for Urban Population Health, Walnut Way and the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families.
“Several people on our board of directors have worked directly with Cindy over the years. They spoke so highly of her, it was a unanimous decision,” said Kathy Schmitz, executive vice president of the MSMC. “Dr. Haq shares our passion and commitment to ensure quality health care for the community, and support medical students who will care for the next generation of individuals and families in our community.”
Dr. Haq also established and directed the UW Center for Global Health from 2005 to 2011. She shifted her efforts to Milwaukee in 2008 when she began working with Aurora Health Care to establish the TRIUMPH program. They work with partners throughout Milwaukee to promote health for urban, medically underserved populations.
A week after receiving the award from the MSMC, Haq traveled to Ethiopia where she is working with a new family medicine residency in Addis Ababa for two weeks before returning stateside.
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