About Us

Who We Are

The UHI serves as an interface between Johns Hopkins and the Baltimore community in which it resides. The UHI was established in 2000 by Dr. William Brody, president of the University, in response to a recommendation from the Urban Health Council — a group of community residents, clergy, local leaders, business representatives, city officials, and faculty, staff, and students from the Johns Hopkins Institutions (JHI). Together with its community partners, the UHI explores ways that the research, teaching, and clinical expertise of the University can be better harnessed for the benefit of the residents of East Baltimore.

Mission

To serve as a catalyst that brings together the resources of Johns Hopkins Institutions with the City of Baltimore, and especially East Baltimore to improve the community’s health and well-being, and in so doing serve as a model of community-university collaboration regionally and nationally.

What We Do

• Serve as a bridge between JHI and Baltimore, facilitating understanding and information sharing so as to improve health outcomes;
• Facilitate collaborations between JHI and the Baltimore community around research, community projects, program planning/implementation and evaluation.
• Improve the understandings of JHI as they relate to the health needs and aspirations of the community; and concurrently, to improve the understandings of the community as to the work that JHI does that has the promise of improving the health and wellbeing of the community.
• Strengthen the capacity of the Baltimore community by bringing the knowledge and skills available through JHI to community identified needs and issues;
• Strengthen the academic offerings and opportunities within JHI as they relate to urban health and development;
• Initiate sustainable, collaborative interventions that will improve the health and well-being of Baltimore and the East Baltimore community.

The UHI works to ensure that:

1. All pregnant women deliver healthy babies.
2. All babies are born wanted and in stable and secure homes.
3. All children enter school healthy and ready to learn.
4. All children and adults are healthy and live in safe, secure and healthy environments.
5. All children who enter kindergarten graduate high school with the capacity to enter higher education or with the skills to be fully employed.
6. Assure access to primary, preventive and referral health services.