NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Former mayor Mike Bloomberg announced on Thursday that Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $100 million to four historically Black medical schools to help increase the number of Black doctors in the U.S. by significantly reducing the debt burden of approximately 800 medical students, many of whom face increased financial pressure due to COVID-19.
Meharry Medical College, Howard University College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science are among the schools to receive the grant, dubbed the Greenwood Initiative, that will provide scholarships up to $100,000 to nearly every medical student currently enrolled and receiving financial aid over the next four years.
"COVID-19 has been especially devastating for the Black community, and the scarcity of Black doctors practicing in Black communities is one reason for it," Bloomberg said in a statement."More Black doctors will mean more Black lives saved and fewer health problems that limit economic opportunity."
The new effort hopes to increase generational wealth among Black families and address systemic underinvestment in Black communities.
"Right now, the burden of student debt and lack of financial aid means that the shortage of Black doctors could get even worse. During my campaign for president, I proposed a set of bold policies -- which we called the Greenwood Initiative -- to increase generational wealth among Black families and shrink the racial wealth gap," he added.
Only five percent of practicing physicians in the United States are Black yet data proves that Black patients -- who are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than white Americans -- have better outcomes when treated by Black doctors.
Earlier this year during his campaign for U.S. President, Bloomberg pledged to help accelerate the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and to address decades of underinvestment in Black communities nationwide.
With this strategic investment, Bloomberg Philanthropies strives to reduce health and wealth disparities in Black communities by improving health outcomes for Black Americans and accelerating the Black community's ability to create generational wealth.
