For more than 15 years, the Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program—better known as NeighborhoodHELP—has stood as an international model for how medical education and compassionate, community-based care can work hand in hand. Now, a $1 million gift from the Green Family Foundation is powering the next chapter of this signature FIU Medicine initiative.
The gift arrives amid growing support for the college and the program, including a $1.4 million in-kind donation of clinical space in South Miami and expanding state and federal backing for FIU Medicine’s community care work.
“NeighborhoodHELP exists because the Green family believed South Florida needed a bold, community-centered approach to healthcare,” said Dr. Juan C. Cendan, FIU Medicine dean and senior vice president for health affairs. “Today, they are helping us shape the next chapter, ensuring the program continues to evolve and thrive for future generations.”
Kimberly Green, president of the Green Family Foundation, echoed that commitment. “This initiative reflects our longstanding belief that strong, healthy communities are built through access and compassionate care,” she said.
“This initiative reflects our longstanding belief that strong, healthy communities are built through access and compassionate care,”
— Kimberly Green
NeighborhoodHELP sends interdisciplinary teams of medical, PA, nursing and social work students into homes and neighborhoods across Miami-Dade County, with legal services offered by law students. Working alongside faculty and health professionals, the teams address not only clinical needs but the social factors that shape health—housing instability, language barriers, income constraints and transportation challenges.
Since inception, more than 3,800 FIU students have participated, serving more than 4,300 community members. The new Green Family Foundation investment will help expand NeighborhoodHELP into our residency training and launch a pilot primary care clinic,.
The model will be anchored by collaboration with Federally Qualified Health Centers along with a brick and mortar clinic pilot in South Miami, providing stable access to coordinated, longitudinal care. Mobile Health Centers will continue to serve as a complementary community engagement tool, supporting outreach, preventive screenings, care navigation, and connections to primary care, behavioral health, and community resources.
Helping lead this next chapter is Sarah Suarez, Ph.D. ’21, MPH, who took the helm as director of the Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP program this year. Suarez brings experience spanning government, nonprofit and health system settings. Early in her career, she supported frontline HIV prevention efforts. More recently, as chief transformation officer for Miami-Dade County, she shaped the Peace & Prosperity Plan, a $90 million initiative aimed at reducing violence and strengthening neighborhood stability.
“NeighborhoodHELP offers a powerful model for learning because it connects students directly with the communities we serve,” Suarez said. “One of my goals is to continue strengthening that experience by working with faculty to help students connect what they learn in the classroom with the real-world health challenges facing households across South Florida.”
That vision finds a tangible home in the recent gift of clinical space from Dr. Paul Alan Wetter. A pioneering surgeon who helped advance minimally invasive and robotic techniques, Wetter retired and donated his longtime office—located near the Baptist Health South Miami Hospital campus—to FIU Medicine. The space will support the planned primary care clinic pilot and extend the program’s reach.
“I’ve been observing FIU becoming a clinical partner with the Baptist Health system, and our office is right there,” Wetter explained. “The main mission of that office has been helping to make medicine function better, improving patient outcomes and training a whole generation of surgeons. Our mission is so aligned with FIU and all the good work they’re doing. It was a great fit, and it was a pleasure to be able to donate it so that tradition could continue in that space.”
"Our mission is so aligned with FIU and all the good work they are doing."
— Paul Alan Wetter, M.D.
Wetter’s own career was shaped by years at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he saw the power of understanding patients’ full lives and hardships. As chief resident, he helped launch one of the country’s early programs using standardized patients, trained individuals who portray patients to help students develop physical examination skills while receiving real-world feedback on communication and bedside manner.
His advice to the students who will learn in the new space is simple and heartfelt: “Follow your dreams and passions. Follow the road that you personally believe will make a difference and benefit people. Treat everyone as though they are part of your family, because in a certain way, they are. You want the best for everyone.”
NeighborhoodHELP 2.0 is not simply an expansion. It builds on the program’s early vision by creating new opportunities for students and trainees, strengthening support for families and helping communities achieve better health and well-being
