The Center for the Underserved at Rush ENT (CURE) is an initiative by students and faculty at Rush University Medical Center aimed at enhancing access to otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) care for underserved persons in Chicago and beyond.
CURE focuses on providing comprehensive ENT services to individuals in rural areas of Central Illinois and to homeless communities in Chicago. The program utilizes both in-person and telemedicine approaches to deliver care, ensuring that patients with complex needs receive the necessary surgical and medical interventions. Additionally, CURE collaborates with local shelters and community organizations to offer integrated telemedicine services, combining video consultations with in-person visits to address the healthcare needs of homeless individuals.
In our attempt to bridge the healthcare inequity that homeless citizens encounter, we have launched a hybrid in-person/virtual care program to improve access to otolaryngology care for the homeless community
Our mission is to develop a program through which we can provide the complete spectrum of otolaryngology care to a person living in rural Illinois, just the same as an individual living in the city of Chicago with access to five major medical centers.
Our team is dedicated to ensuring that all children in the Dominican Republic receive comprehensive, high quality hearing care.
The Journal of Global Otolaryngology was founded to address the historic underrepresentation of otolaryngology within global surgery literature and to create a unified platform for collaboration, research, and education.
Rush is hosting a free, hybrid symposium for otolaryngologists, fellows, residents, and students.
Interested residents can apply for admission to this track in the second half of their PGY-1 year. Rush sends an otolaryngology team on two global health trips per year to the Dominican Republic where Rush has a well-established presence and a strong relationship with the local community. Residents can participate in one of these week-long trips during their residency. Funding for the trip is provided by global health scholarships and the Department of Otolaryngology.
CURE is a collaborative effort between physicians, students, audiologists, support staff, and general volunteers within Chicago and across the globe who work together to advance our mission to expand access to high-quality specialty medical care to historically underserved areas and communities.
With the support of our Rush University Department of Otolaryngology, faculty, residents and students, Ashok Jagasia, MD, PhD, established the Cure Initiative in 2022. All of the programs described are new service lines of care for the underserved communities which did not exist previously.
CURE is founded on the principle that advancing equitable healthcare requires sustainable, mission-driven support. Philanthropy ensures CURE to continue its mission to serve underserved communities and foster innovation across a multitude of clinical and academic initiatives without relying on short-term funding models.
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