Community-academic partnerships: how can communities benefit?

In answer to the question of how academic institutions will meet medical education needs and public health challenges of the 21st century, a strong, vibrant, and sustained community partnership has been developed to teach public health, address community public health needs, and develop health policy to sustain these improvements, all with a practical approach. In this paper, the partnership between the University of Vermont College of Medicine and various community agencies is described from the perspective of how the community can benefit from educational efforts in public health. Particular focus is given to the community-academic partnership model in public health, a strong and sustained partnership between the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the United Way of Chittenden County Volunteer Center that began in 2004. Public health projects are designed, through partnerships with community nonprofit agencies, to be effective in addressing community issues while helping prepare students to become problem-solvers in population health. Examples of benefits seen by the community are used to illustrate the success of this approach. Project examples and a brief case study illustrate how community-academic partnerships in medical education can serve as a "catalyst" to improving community health.