Nearly 40 national partner organizations band together to bring communities culturally appropriate information and health services.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (March 24, 2021) – The Center for Victims of Torture^TM (CVT) joined Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)’s National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN) of partners to inform community-driven response, recovery, and resiliency strategies for addressing the impact of COVID-19 on communities. 

In response to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers, CVT has hired a community health navigator who will provide health education and care linkage to community members, clients and their family members who have been impacted by COVID-19.  

“Being an NCRN partner has provided us an opportunity to join other community partners in actively providing COVID-19 intervention and support to the refugee and immigrant communities in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. It also affords additional staff capacity to provide more specific support and guidance to community members in accessing various resources as they navigate the many challenges they are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Adaobi Iheduru, Psy.D., psychologist and clinic manager at CVT Georgia.

The launch of the NCRN occurs alongside the release of new digital technology accessible through the NCRN website. It provides location-based recommendations on where community members can get a COVID-19 test, fill prescriptions and get a COVID-19 vaccine when distribution increases in the coming months.

“Our national network connects individuals, families, community organizations and clinical providers to timely and relevant COVID-19 information and services in their neighborhood,” says Dominic Mack, MD, MBA, Professor of Family Medicine and Co-Director of the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network in the National Center for Primary Care at MSM.

The NCRN launch follows a $40 million award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health to coordinate a strategic network focused on delivering COVID-19-related information to communities hardest hit by the pandemic.

To access new COVID-19 resources, visit www.msm.edu/ncrn. 

The Center for Victims of Torture is a nonprofit organization headquartered in St. Paul, MN, with offices in Atlanta, GA, and Washington, D.C.; and healing initiatives in Africa and the Middle East. Visit www.cvt.org.

About Morehouse School of Medicine

Morehouse School of Medicine, located in Atlanta, GA, exists to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities; increase the diversity of the health professional and scientific workforce; and address primary health care through programs in education, research, and service, with emphasis on people of color and the underserved urban and rural populations in Georgia, the nation, and the world. MSM is among the nation’s leading educators of primary care physicians and has twice been recognized as the top institution among U.S. medical schools for its dedication to the social mission of education. The faculty and alumni are noted in their fields for excellence in teaching, research, and public policy, and are known in the community for exceptional, culturally appropriate patient care. Morehouse School of Medicine is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctorate and master’s degrees.

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