Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine

Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) has partner with Homes of Living Hope to build a medical/dental clinic for nonprofit, Urban Mosaic.

About this Project

Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) is Idaho’s first medical school! The first class of 162 students started instruction in September 2018. The students view the collaboration with HoLH as an opportunity to serve while developing skills critical to holistic care – ICOM’s mission is to train competent and caring physicians to support the healthcare needs of those living in rural areas.
Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive form of medicine. Students are trained to look at the whole person. Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) use all the knowledge, skills, tools, and technology available in modern medicine, with the added benefits of a holistic philosophy and emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention.

Project Plans

The Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) is transforming a used shipping container into a medical/dental clinic for Urban Mosaic based outside Mexico City. The container will be built by future doctors from the school. ICOM also plans to use the project to build awareness in their community of their desire to be difference makers in their profession.

Current Project Needs

It’s an exciting time for the ICOM container project! ICOM has recently resumed construction on their container, after a delay to dedicate their energy and resources to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Keep checking back for more information about how you can help!

About the Recipient

Urban Mosaic’s mission is to facilitate the development, implementation, and transmission of reproducible community change models that reduce poverty and build healthier communities.

Their model uses faith-infused community organizing as a context to address the great needs within urban slums – economic, social, political/systemic, spiritual, education, health, psychological, etc. – building the capacity of residents to identify, plan and take action that transforms their own reality.

Urban Mosaic has acquired a plot of land in Lomas de San Isidro, an urban poor community in the La Paz municipality, located on the eastern edge of Mexico City. This will be the permanent home of the medial/dental container ICOM is building.

Lomas de San Isidro is an area where hundreds of thousands of people live with little opportunities for families to access health care, for children to get preventative health education, and for citizens to come together in shared public spaces to dream about improved community conditions.

This fragile environment undercuts the God-given potential of many of these city dwellers.The container turned clinic will see 1,000 patients each year and give 300 urban poor families access to health care, as we train community health educators that will equip families to reduce preventable diseases, better nutrition and improve peoples’ overall health and well-being, while bringing adults together to learn, grow and organize to improve community conditions. The end goal is to improve the lives of at least 2,000 children, youth and adults in the community.