Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Access for the underserved (aka poor, minority) to better medical care

I've been looking through the MEDTAPP grant of about $10 million (1.5  years) for seven Ohio medical schools for "underserved" populations.  It reportedly comes from  The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) which I assume got it from the federal government.  That sounds like a lot of money--except the universities skim about 55-60% for overhead (or did when I worked at OSU).  But imagine how big the amount was before the federal and state governments took their cuts!  Then it is split 7 ways and the money goes first to set up and administer those programs which are primarily for curriculum bloat, training experiences, coordination, outreach, etc. in everything from mental health to pediatrics to gerontology to expansion of faculty. It's no wonder the medical practices and hospitals have low reimbursement for treating the low income sick and elderly.

I couldn’t find within the several websites I checked whether the 1,000 students and trainees who go through these programs have any obligation to actually work with the “underserved.”

Government programs provide a very fine living for “public servants.”  No one in this pass through of funding is poor, underserved, mentally ill, elderly, or low income. Let’s hope something at the end of the line helps the needy (aka underserved).

  • The University of Akron – College of Nursing
  • Case Western Reserve University – School of Dental Medicine and Departments of Family
  • Medicine/MetroHealth System, Pediatrics and Psychiatry
  • Kent State University – College of Nursing
  • The Ohio State University – Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing, Moms2Be Program, Interdisciplinary Behavioral Health Education Program, Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development Program, and Medicaid Practice Placement and Learning Experiences Partnership Program
  • University of Toledo – Department of Psychiatry
  • Wright State University – Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Community Psychiatry Collaborative (involving the Departments of Psychiatry, Geriatrics, Community Health and Family Medicine).

https://ckm.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/grc2public/documents/11MEDTAPPHAIOVERVIEW.pdf

http://grc.osu.edu/medicaidpartnerships/healthcareaccess/

http://nursing.osu.edu/news/news-headline-articles/Ohio-Medicaid-to-Fund-Statewide-Projects-to-Train-More-Than-1000-Health-Professionals.html

No comments: