WASHINGTON — The United Health Foundation has committed $100,000 to the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at The George Washington University 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 GW 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 GW SPHHS 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 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 Sara Rosenbaum, Hirsh Professor and Chair, Department of Health PolicySchool of Public Health and Health Services at the George Washington University Medical Center.
About the United Health Foundation
Guided by a passion to help people live healthier lives, United Health Foundation supports activities that expand access to quality health care services for those in challenging circumstances and partners with others to improve the well being of communities. The Foundation also provides helpful information to support decisions that lead to better health outcomes and healthier communities. Since established by UnitedHealth Group [NYSE: UNH] in 1999 as a not for profit private foundation, the Foundation has committed more than $160 million to improve health and health care. For more information, visit www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.
About the RCHN Community Health Foundation
The RCHN Community Health Foundation (RCHN CHF) is a New York-based not-for-profit operating foundation dedicated to supporting and benefiting community health centers (CHCs) in New York state and nationally. The Foundation develops and supports programmatic and business initiatives related to community health center access, pharmacy and health information technology through strategic investment, research, outreach, education, and coalition building. For more information about RCHN CHF, contact Chief Operating Officer / EVP Feygele Jacobs at (212) 246-1122, ext. 712, or fjacobs@rchnfoundation.org.
About The George Washington University Medical Center
The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, since 1824. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu.
