Family and Social Medicine

Established in 1978, the Department of Family and Social Medicine is nationally recognized for its significant and unique role it serves in the development of clinical care and training in urban family medicine. Our team of dedicated physicians, nurses, social workers, and an AIDS specialist provide comprehensive care to approximately 55,000 patients each year. We provide general and specialty care in two primary outpatient clinics of the Montefiore Medical Group, the Family Health Center and Williamsbridge, and have more than 20 additional affiliates in the Bronx and Westchester, such as Fordham Family and Castle Hill Family Practices.

Patients of all ages, ranging from prenatal to geriatric, come to us for wellness, immunization, sick visits, and even dental care. Spanning a wide spectrum of social services, we treat individuals requesting flu shots to those suffering from severe cases of diabetes and AIDS. We also provide inpatient and palliative care service for individuals with terminal illnesses.

Our reputation for excellence in social medicine stems from our ambulatory and academic healthcare setting, our superior staff and faculty, and advanced access initiative, which ensures a follow-up appointment in 48 hours. Because our residents are actively tending to patients at various Montefiore Medical Group locations, they are able to keenly assess the needs of the community and vigorously develop specialized programs to provide fast, efficient solutions for their issues.

A Commitment to Research

The Departnent of Family and Social Medicine aims to improve the health of underserved communities by defining a research agenda that addresses essential clinical, epidemiologic, educational, health services, and health policy questions, and by conducting studies in these areas to expand its role responding to health care needs in urban populations. In doing so, we draw on the strengths of the communities and institutions with which we work to promote health, education, and social service. Plus our commitment to education is evident in the fact that our Residency Program in Social Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has been a model for training and preparing physicians to work in underserved areas.

Our research activities reflect our strong values and recognize the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration to further enrich our expertise. Ultimately, we seek to generate new knowledge, contribute to existing literature, expand our community service activities, and develop fresh methodologies and analytic approaches to better serve our patients and community.