New Jersey Medical School's unique relationship to its community

The Newark, New Jersey, riot of 1967, sparked in part by tensions created by the conflicting emphasis of President Lyndon Johnson's Model Cities Program, community action programs, and the New Jersey state medical school's move to Newark's Central Ward, has profoundly affected the medical school and its delivery of medical care in Newark. This paper delineates how these Johnson-era programs contributed to the riot and details the continuing legacy of these events on the medical school and the delivery of health care in Newark. The paper concludes that New Jersey Medical School is expected by its community to have a higher standard of local involvement than comparable institutions. Furthermore, it suggests that New Jersey Medical School's relationship and commitment to its community serve as a model for community interactions for medical schools throughout the United States.