Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has been awarded $1.2 million in
grant funding and in-kind support by United Health Foundation and Optum
to help support its Patient Centered Medical Home and Neighborhood
Project.
Norman L. Wright, senior vice president of Optum and board member of United Health Foundation, speaks during a check presentation by United Health Foundation and Optum for a $1.2 million donation to Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice (right), president, Morehouse School of Medicine, to support its Patient Centered Medical Home and Neighborhood Project. The announcement was made during a community health fair hosted by Morehouse, United Health Foundation, Optum and UnitedHealthcare at the Comprehensive Family Healthcare Center at Buggy Works in East Point. Also pictured: Dr. Reed Tuckson, managing director, Tuckson Health Connections, and UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound (Photo: Russell Kaye).
The Medical Home and Neighborhood Project provides an innovative
primary-care delivery model and a series of community engagement
programs to improve health in and around Atlanta’s East Point area, a
largely African-American community with high rates of poverty and
complex chronic diseases.
A patient-centered medical home better organizes care by centering care
delivery with the primary care provider, and then using health
information technology and improved communication to help coordinate the
patients’ treatments among their other care providers and others in the
health system, which can lead to higher quality and lower costs.
Experience shows this approach helps improve patients’ and health care
providers’ experience with care.
The grant is part of United Health Foundation’s “Helping Build Healthier
Communities” program, which provides critical resources to nonprofit,
community-based organizations across the country to improve communities’
health and well-being. United Health Foundation previously provided a
planning grant of $200,000 to Morehouse School of Medicine. To continue
the work begun with that grant, United Health Foundation is providing an
additional grant of $400,000, and Optum is providing $600,000 in grant
funds and in-kind support.
The grants will help MSM create a patient-centered medical home at its
department of family medicine clinical site, the Comprehensive Family
Healthcare Center at Buggy Works in East Point. The project will
coordinate and enhance care through MSM’s cultural-engagement approach
and strong community ties. The program will work to improve health care
delivery and outcomes, and decrease costs among MSM’s adult patients
between 40 and 75 years old who are at high risk for disease or who are
living with multiple complex conditions.
With the patient-centered medical home model, clinicians have access to
information on all lab results, medical orders and health care visits
across multiple venues to ensure comprehensive, coordinated care for
patients in the right setting at the right time.
“We are pleased to receive support from United Health Foundation and
Optum to help us expand our efforts to improve the health of our
community and help some of the most vulnerable individuals and families
here in Atlanta,” said Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D., president & Dean,
Morehouse School of Medicine. “Morehouse’s deep roots in the community
make us uniquely positioned to address the health issues affecting our
patients, and we look forward to expanding access to quality,
coordinated care thanks to the foundation’s support.”
The support from United Health Foundation and Optum comes at a critical
time as African Americans in the Atlanta metro area are
disproportionately affected by serious chronic diseases and often lack
access to quality health care. In Atlanta’s Fulton and DeKalb counties
alone, nearly 45,000 African-American person-years of life are lost each
year due to poor access to health care. Person-years of life is a
measure of premature mortality that is an estimate of the years a person
would have lived if he or she had not died prematurely.
Nationwide, African Americans have a higher rate compared to Caucasians
of many chronic conditions, including hypertension, diabetes and
obesity. MSM’s Patient Centered Medical Home and Neighborhood Program is
located within its Family Medicine clinical site, which provides 17,000
outpatient visits each year – mainly serving African-American patients
with multiple chronic diseases. The grant money and support from United
Health Foundation and Optum will enable MSM to help these patients
better manage their complex conditions, reduce emergency room visits
and, as a result, improve community health and lower costs for
individuals and the health system.
According to United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings®,
Georgia ranks 38th among all 50 states in overall health. The
state has a high prevalence of costly chronic conditions, including
obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
“We are grateful to United Health Foundation and Optum for providing
this support to Morehouse School of Medicine, which will help improve
the lives of people who rely on these services and programs,” said State
Rep. Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus). “This partnership will enable MSM to
expand its services and reach into underserved communities across
Georgia.”
“United Health Foundation and Optum are supporting Morehouse School of
Medicine’s efforts to bring innovative approaches to care that help
improve people’s health and quality of life, particularly in underserved
areas,” said Norman L. Wright, senior vice president of Optum and United
Health Foundation board member. “This grant to Morehouse School of
Medicine’s patient-centered medical home helps expand new approaches to
care that reward quality over quantity.”
MSM is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals
and communities; increasing the diversity of the health industry and
scientific workforce; and addressing primary health care needs through
programs in education and research service, with an emphasis on
underserved urban and rural populations in Georgia and the nation. MSM
has a long history of serving the African-American community and was the
first medical school established at a historically black college and
university in the 20th century. MSM is among the nation’s
leading educators of primary care physicians and was recently recognized
as the top institution among U.S. medical schools for its social mission.
About Morehouse School of Medicine
Founded in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is among the
nation's leading educators of primary care physicians and was recognized
by Annals of Internal Medicine in 2011 as the top institution in the
first study of U.S. medical schools for our social mission based on our
production of primary care physicians, training of underrepresented
minority doctors and placement of doctors practicing in underserved
communities. MSM faculty and alumni are noted for excellence in
teaching, research and public policy, as well as exceptional patient
care. Morehouse School of Medicine is accredited by the Commission on
Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award
doctoral and master's degrees. For more information, please visit www.msm.edu.
About United Health Foundation
Through collaboration with community partners, grants and outreach
efforts, United Health Foundation works to improve our health system,
build a diverse and dynamic health workforce and enhance the well-being
of local communities. United Health Foundation was established by
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in 1999 as a not-for-profit, private
foundation dedicated to improving health and health care. To date,
United Health Foundation has committed more than $285 million to
programs and communities around the world. We invite you to learn more
at www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.
About Optum
Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services
business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for
everyone. With more than 80,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers
intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health
system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of the
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH).
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