Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

Overview

Originally founded in 1940 to support Albert Schweitzer's hospital in Africa, The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop Leaders in Service: individuals who are dedicated and skilled in meeting the health needs of underserved communities, and whose example influences and inspires others.

ASF supports Schweitzer Fellows (primarily graduate students) as they partner with community-based organizations to develop and implement yearlong, mentored service projects that meet the health needs of underserved populations.

250 Schweitzer Fellows annually: • Serve at 13 U.S. locations and the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, Africa • Provide nearly 50,000 hours of service • Serve nearly 25,000 low-to-moderate income clients • Partner with nearly 250 community-based organizations • Represent more than 100 leading universities

The Schweitzer Fellows for Life alumni network: • Supports a pipeline of Leaders in Service more than 2,000 strong and growing • 70% spend more than 75% of their professional time in clinical or human service • 59% of their patients and clients, on average, are from underserved populations • 99% say ASF is integral to sustaining their commitment to serve the underserved

ASF's central office is hosted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the official sister hospital of the Schweitzer Hospital in Africa.

History

In 1940, ASF was founded in the United States to support Schweitzer's medical work in Africa during World War II. Since Schweitzer’s death in 1965, the Fellowship has continued to provide direct assistance to the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné.

In 1979, the Fellowship -- under the leadership of Board Chair Emeritus Mark L. Wolf -- began sending senior U.S. medical students to work at the hospital. These Lambaréné Schweitzer Fellows work together with an international staff of Gabonese and expatriate professionals, providing care through over 35,000 outpatient visits and more than 6,000 hospitalizations annually for patients from all parts of Gabon.

Wolf and Lachlan Forrow, MD (a 1982 Lambaréné Schweitzer Fellow, and ASF's current president) soon realized that the same health disparities Fellows were traveling to Africa to address also existed in abundance in the U.S. In 1991, they launched ASF's U.S. Schweitzer Fellows Program.

Now, ASF selects approximately 250 graduate students each year as U.S. Schweitzer Fellows. Over the course of a year, on top of their regular medical, nursing, or other health professional school responsibilities, each Schweitzer Fellow must develop and implement a service project of at least 200 hours with a direct and lasting impact on the health of local underserved communities. ASF now has 13 U.S. program sites, and Fellows have delivered more than 400,000 hours of service.

Upon completion of their initial year, Fellows join an international alumni network of over 2,000 Schweitzer Fellows for Life—individuals skilled in, and committed to, meeting the health needs of underserved people throughout their careers as professionals. Each fall, ASF hosts an annual Fellows for Life Conference for program alumni.