Office of Community Service Programs

The Office of Community Service Programs (OCSP) was established in 2019 to expand the commitment of CUIMC to community service, with a focus on the Washington Heights/Inwood community, Upper Manhattan, and parts of the Bronx.

The mission of the OCSP is to build upon CUIMC’s many ongoing efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of our local community by facilitating, coordinating, and strengthening community outreach.  

The office realizes this mission through the support and implementation of numerous service and outreach programs that engage our local community, students, faculty, and staff especially as it relates to health and educational opportunities.

The Office:

  • Serves as a resource for our local residents and the CUIMC community
  • Connects our local community with the numerous resources available at CUIMC
  • Coordinates and supports community service-learning opportunities
  • Works to promote and expand educational opportunities for local youth
  • Serve as a liaison between CUIMC and educational institutions, i.e. school districts, city colleges
  • Administers the Faculty Academy of Community and Public Service

 

 

The founding director of the Office of Community Service Programs is Rafael Lantigua, MD, associate dean for community service in VP&S and professor of medicine at CUIMC. A native of the Dominican Republic and faculty member at Columbia since 1980, Dr. Lantigua has been a dean’s special adviser for community health affairs since 2011. His clinical and research interest has focused on promoting the health of the diverse community in upper Manhattan and improving access to care for the community’s growing aging population.