The Urology Care Foundation (UCF) is a global organization supporting research, patient education, and humanitarian initiatives and, as such, is committed to expanding our patient education materials with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and growing our global humanitarian efforts. These efforts are captured in a brand refresh to be more aesthetically pleasing and to strengthen our visual ties with the American Urological Association.

Figure 1. Example of patient education bundle for at-risk and underrepresented populations.

Global Humanitarian Efforts

The UCF is entering phase 3 of its Humanitarian Program in 2023. As established in the previous 2 phases, the UCF is already recognizing outstanding humanitarian volunteers and supporting humanitarian projects through the Humanitarian Recognition Award and the Humanitarian Grant Program. Thank you to the AUA Sections and individual donors who have established endowments or are in the process of funding endowments to support these projects:

• AUA Humanitarian Endowment Grant
• Richard J. Fox Humanitarian Endowment Grant
• Endourological Society/Raju and Ginny Thomas
• Nathirmal Lalchandani, MD
• Dave Amerson Family
• Indian American Urological Society
• AUA Southeastern Section/Puerto Rico Urological Association
• McCammon Family International Student
• Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction
• Nawazish Ali Mian, MD, Family
• UCF Humanitarian Endowment for Pakistan
• UCF Humanitarian Endowment
• Global Association for the Support of Haitian Urology (in progress)
• AUA South Central Section (in progress)

We have been very fortunate to have been successful on phases 1 and 2. Now, for phase 3, we want to develop young urologists to become experts with the ability to lead meaningful humanitarian initiatives. We’ll do this through the UCF Health Equity Fellowship pilot program, which will provide the necessary skills, knowledge, and developmental experiences to its awardees. You will be hearing more about this exciting, innovative initiative in future columns!

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Information bundles

As the world’s leading nonprofit urological health foundation, the UCF has over 200 patient education materials with more to come! Yet, we realize the importance of updating our current offerings to make them more widely accessible. This year we’re working to amplify our global voice through patient education bundles for at-risk and underrepresented populations. These bundles will have QR codes associated with them for quick and easy access to the materials. Our current offerings include bundles for African American men and women, Hispanic men, the LGBTQIA population and women (Figure 1).

Webinar series

Additionally, in an effort to expand knowledge, advance research, and improve patient care throughout the urology community, we are formulating a collaborative health equity awareness and education webinar series. This series will include a call to action on important health topics and issues in the urological community such as:

• Innovative patient access programs, including patient navigation
• Barriers to diagnosis, care, and treatment for minority populations
• Research advocacy
• Systemic issues to care—financial barriers, prior authorization, step therapy, etc.

The goals for these webinars include increasing awareness of the importance of cultural competency in urology, providing resources to patients in underrepresented populations, improving patient experiences, and improving patient, caregiver, and provider communication.

Brand Refresh

The UCF has grown and evolved, and our brand should reflect that. In alignment with the American Urological Association’s brand progression, the UCF brand is getting an upgrade. To strengthen the connection with the AUA, we’ve added the line “powered by trusted experts of the” along with the AUA logo. We’ve also updated our visual style to include more consistency of brand colors and elements (Figure 1). Additionally, QR codes have been developed to be used throughout our marketing, communications, and resources to allow for a simple, quick scan from a phone. We will direct users to “Learn More” or “Donate.”

Annual Meeting Benefit

I’m particularly looking forward to our annual benefit in 2023 (Figure 2). This year the event will be held at Buddy Guy’s Legends on Friday, April 28. Tickets are on sale now (UrologyHealth.org/Benefit) and the Early Bird pricing lasts through February 21. It’s always great fun, and helps the Foundation move forward. I hope to see you there!