Morehouse School of Medicine Receives $1.1 Million Grant from Truist Foundation

ATLANTA, February 16, 2021 /3BL Media/ – Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) today announced it has received a $1.1 million grant from Truist Foundation to expand the institution’s telehealth services that experienced a 700 percent increase in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Morehouse School of Medicine’s clinical arm, Morehouse Healthcare, launched MHC Telehealth in 2018 to offer patients in rural and underserved areas of Georgia consultation and care using videoconferencing technology. Demand for the service surged during the first 60 days of the COVID-19 pandemic as isolated patients sought solutions that could improve outcomes and keep them out of the already overburdened hospital system.

“Truist Foundation’s grant will allow us to triple our telehealth capacity within two years,” said MSM President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D. “Prior to the pandemic, too many people lacked equitable care, and the problem has taken on catastrophic proportions since the onset of COVID-19. The partnership between MSM and Truist will make a difference and help bring care to those who need it most.”

The new grant will also help establish a telehealth-digital epidemiology unit at MSM that will significantly boost the medical school’s artificial intelligence, machine learning, mobile health, and big data capabilities.

“We hope this grant can help bridge the current gap between effective healthcare accessibility and our underserved Georgia communities,” said Jenna Kelly, Truist’s Northern Georgia regional president, on behalf of the Truist Foundation. “I look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Morehouse School of Medicine to achieve our shared goal of assisting rural and underserved populations across Georgia via telehealth epidemiology, technology infrastructure and data collection.”  

Said MSM Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement Bennie L. Harris, Ph.D., “Morehouse School of Medicine and Truist Foundation share a common purpose — to help our communities thrive. Together we can reach more patients and improve outcomes for the most vulnerable in our society.”

The partnership with Truist Foundation is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by Morehouse School of Medicine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The institution has been tapped by numerous agencies and organizations to research and address the virus’s outsized impact on underserved communities and is hosting clinical trials while serving as an approved vaccine allocation site.

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About Morehouse School of Medicine

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), located in Atlanta, Ga., was founded in 1975 as the Medical Education Program at Morehouse College. In 1981, MSM became an independently chartered institution. MSM is among the nation’s leading educators of primary care physicians and was recently recognized as the top institution among U.S. medical schools for social mission. Our faculty and alumni are noted in their fields for excellence in teaching, research and public policy. 

MSM is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Council on Education for Public Health, Liaison Committee on Medical Education and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. https://www.msm.edu/

About Truist Foundation

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on leadership development, economic mobility, thriving communities and educational equity. Learn more at Truist.com/Purpose/Truist-Foundation.

Media contacts:

Nicole Linton, MSM
nlinton@msm.edu

Audria Belton, Truist Foundation
media@truist.com