The UNM Office for Community Health (OCH) is internationally recognized as one of three North American institutions designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “WHO Collaborating Center for Innovative Health Workers Education, Service and Research Models.” The designation, proposed by the Pan American Health Organization and approved by WHO’s central headquarters in Geneva, reflects the role UNM plays in modeling innovative approaches to health professions education which meet community health needs.
As a Collaborating Center, OCH presents its innovations globally and hosts visitors from institutions in the Americas and beyond. The Center is unique in acknowledging how many of its innovations are adapted from other countries such as Kenya, the Philippines and Brazil.
The UNM Center is also a member of other international organizations, including WHO-affiliate TheNET which serves as the research arm of The Network (The Network: Towards Unity for Health); the Beyond Flexner Alliance, an inter-professional organization promoting the social mission in health professions education; and the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA).
The WHO Collaborating Center is headed by Arthur Kaufman, MD, Distinguished Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Community Health, Amy Clithero, PhD, MBA, Senior Lecturer in Family and Community Medicine, and Laura Parajon, MD, MPH, Executive Director of the Office for Community Health/Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
OCH Leadership
Arthur Kaufman, MD, Vice Chancellor for Community Health
Office for Community Health
UNM HSC, MSC09 5065
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
