Investing in Equitable Care

During his first week as a medical student at the University at Buffalo, Raul Vazquez was called to the financial aid office and handed an envelope. Anxious about the message it contained, he feared that his enrollment at UB was coming to a swift end. To his surprise, the envelope held a check for $17,000. In support of Vazquez—who came from a low-income background and moved nearly 400 miles away from his home in the Bronx to Buffalo—the university provided him with a stipend to cover his living expenses. The funds, along with a tuition waiver he received through the Educational Opportunity Program, helped Vazquez graduate from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences with little debt.

Now, Vazquez, MD ’89, is returning UB’s investment in his future fifteenfold. With his wife, Toni, BA ’91, the couple has established the Vazquez Family Medical Student Scholarship Fund, which will provide $250,000 in scholarships to support minority students pursuing a career in primary medical care.

“I am the person I am today because of UB. It changed my life. A lot of the things I do today are related to going to medical school,” says Vazquez.

Vazquez aspired to become a doctor at a young age. As a child, he joined his uncle on trips to the hospital emergency room and remembers feeling distraught that neither the staff nor the physician could understand his uncle’s Spanish. From that moment, he vowed to become a doctor and alleviate that barrier by caring for the misunderstood and underserved.

Much of Vazquez’s career is dedicated to eliminating healthcare disparities. In 1996, Raul and Toni opened Urban Family Practice in Buffalo, a bilingual primary care practice that offers a full range of services at two locations in Buffalo. 

Recognizing the need for coordinated, person-centered care for Medicaid recipients with multiple or severe chronic conditions, Vazquez founded the Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN) in 2009. The organization is a network of physicians who work together to provide healthcare services to underserved communities. As president and chief executive officer, Vazquez leads a team of more than 220 professionals and grew GBUAHN to become one of the largest minority employers in Western New York.

“There is a significant problem with health equity in Buffalo, particularly in Black and brown communities,” says Allison Brashear, dean of the Jacobs School. “I believe if you train a diverse group of providers, you can make a long-term impact on the health of the community and the country. We are committed to bringing in students who have a passion to make a difference in their community and offering those students scholarships. The fund established by the Vazquezes help strengthen this commitment.”

The Vazquez Family Medical Student Scholarships will be given out this year.