Since 2008, the MU School of Medicine has joined with the Cristo Rey Network to support low-income minority students and increase campus diversity.
The Cristo Rey Network was founded in 2003 by the Rev. John Foley due to the decline in the number of Catholic schools available to low-income youth.
Close to 50 percent of Catholic schools have closed in America since 1960, and he wanted to find a way to provide high quality private education to low-income students, Cristo Rey Network CEO Robert Birdsell said.
“We created this corporation work study program, which funds 70 percent of a student’s tuition,” he said.
The Cristo Rey Network supports 24 Catholic college preparatory high schools, which nearly 7,000 urban students are enrolled in. MU and the Cristo Rey high school in Kansas City have cooperated since 2008 to guide students who are interested in a health care profession.
According to a news release from the MU School of Medicine, all 47 students in the Cristo Rey Kansas City class of 2011 went to college in the fall and 98 percent of them were the first members of their families to attend college.
Starting in 2012, the School of Medicine has expanded its partnership to become a national partner with Cristo Rey Network.
Kathleen Quinn, director of the MU Area Health Education Center Program, said a diverse class makes for more culturally competent health care providers, and patients’ health outcomes improve if their caregiver shares the same background.
Birdsell said MU has been a zealous partner that provides access to opportunities for low-income students, who otherwise might not have considered the medical profession.
“The school also wants to expose young people from urban areas as well,” he said.
Sponsored by the Cristo Rey Network, MU offers a special program called the Summit. It is a three-day event hosted by the three professional schools, during which students get to experience health careers and campus life.
The Area Health Education Center in Kansas City also offers the same program to students in the area. Quinn said MU AHEC is currently working on expanding the Summit event to other Midwest Cristo Rey students by June 2012.
MU sophomore Maureen Tanner has had support from the Cristo Rey Network since her freshman year in high school. During her high school years, the network offered her several college visits, including MU, and guided her to several health care centers in Midwest.
When she visited MU, she met Ellis Ingram, who has helped her since her freshman year of high school.
“Once I went to MU, he hired me to work for him and help him with his science club (called Caleb), and fall 2011 semester he promoted me to supervise the Science Club,” she said.
So far, MU has four Cristo Rey high school graduates who are now sophomores.
Quinn said Cristo Rey students must maintain good grades and remain interested in health care. No professional experience is required.