The United Health Foundation has committed $100,000 to the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at The George Washington University (GWU) School of Public Health and Health Services. The grant will be used to implement a special study to monitor and evaluate use of the more than $2 billion in special multi-phase stimulus funding awarded to community health centers under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The stimulus dollars are intended to build, strengthen and sustain health care delivery in medically underserved areas, and support local communities through economic investment, workforce development, and other initiatives.

The new study builds on earlier quality of care research at GWU funded by the United Health Foundation. It will be conducted by the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative, a multi-faceted academic training and research initiative housed at the department of health policy at GWU School of Public Health and Health Services, and created in 2007 through a gift of $2 million by the RCHN Community Health Foundation.

“The stimulus funding will provide significant opportunities for community health centers to expand access and improve quality of care,” said Mr. Julio Bellber, president and CEO of the RCHN Community Health Foundation. “We applaud the United Health Foundation in supporting the Collaborative’s efforts to understand the impact of major public investment in community health centers. We look forward to this significant partnership focused on evaluating and documenting the contribution of health centers to their communities.”

“We are deeply grateful to receive this commitment on the part of the United Health Foundation and for the RCHN Community Health Foundation’s ongoing support for the research collaborative,” said Ms. Sara Rosenbaum, Hirsh professor and chair of the department of health policy at the GWU School of Public Health and Health Services.