Mission & History

Mission

• Cultivate service and leadership locally, regionally, nationally and globally
• Develop inspirational educational environments that enable our learners to achieve their full potential
• Create cutting-edge clinical care that maximizes the health of all of our patients
• Foster and disseminate scholarship that advances the quality of healthcare

Values

• Stewardship – An equitable and accountable investment of our human and financial resources to optimally meet the needs of those we serve
• Education – Leadership and innovation in the education of learners and patients entrusted to us
• Respect – Appreciation for each other, learners and partners
• Value – Delivering unique services to our stakeholders
• Innovation – Increasing and communicating knowledge which contributes to the health of the public and the effectiveness of the healthcare system
• Commitment – Dedication to cultivating an environment of collaboration to accomplish our goals
• Excellence – Striving for excellence in all our endeavors

History

The Department of Family Medicine at the University of Cincinnati was founded in 1974 when Ohio legislation called for the establishment of departments of Family Medicine at all Ohio colleges of medicine. 

The next year, Robert Smith, M.D., was recruited from the University of North Carolina as chair of the department. During these early years, the department grew to develop a family practice center and inpatient service at the University Hospital, as well as a family practice residency program there in 1975.

In 1985 the department began collaborating with a teaching nursing home, Maple Knoll Village in Springdale, Ohio and a geriatric medicine fellowship program was established a year later and is currently based at The Christ Hospital.

In 1994 the department established a required 3rd year family medicine clerkship, in which students learn the principles of family medicine and are placed with a community preceptor and attend weekly didactic sessions.

In 1997, the department, in collaboration with the Clinton Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Wilmington, Ohio, established a second family medicine residency program to focus on the training of family physicians for rural Ohio. A family practice center was also established in Wilmington, Ohio.

During the 2000s, the department developed a successful research program and began nurturing the careers of new investigators.

In 2010, the Board of Trustees University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the department to the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Our mission to provide optimal health for all remains the same; the renaming simply made that mission and the work our faculty and staff have continued to provide to communities locally, regionally and internationally, more apparent.

Currently the department is led by interim chair Christine O'Dea, MD and works to fulfill its educational, research and patient care missions. Through the UC Health system, the department manages family practice clinical sites in Wyoming, UC Health Physicians Office - Tri County, and UC Health Physicians Office - West Chester.

The department also plays a leading role in the newly redesigned medical school curriculum.

Our research division continues to conduct studies aimed at improving the quality of patient care within the framework of the patient-centered medical home.

The department looks forward to building on its rich history and sharing its upcoming successes.