*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
1992.10.26 :  Award -- Minority Management in HMOs

Contact:  Patricia Campbell (301) 443-3376  
October 26, 1992

       HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., today announced a
pilot project to train minorities for management level positions
in health maintenance organizations and other managed care
institutions. 
       The Health Resources and Services Administration, an
agency of the U.S. Public Health Service, has awarded a $100,000
grant to the Group Health Foundation to develop the program.  GHF
is the nonprofit, educational arm of the Group Health Association
of America. 
       The one-year program will combine on-the-job experience
with classroom training, and will draw upon the resources of both
the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and HMOs in the
Baltimore-Washington area.  During training participants, called
fellows, will rotate through three or four HMO job placements,
providing exposure to different kinds of operations.  The goal is
to place fellows in permanent positions.
       "According to estimates, less than 10 percent of HMO
managers are minorities, so this new initiative breaks important
ground," 
Dr. Sullivan said.  "Both the public and private sectors are
placing renewed importance on the role of managed care
organizations in
providing health care.  These organizations must be prepared to
deliver that care to a culturally diverse population, whose numbers 

                           - More -
                             - 2 -

are increasing.  This pilot program will ensure that coordinated
care plans will be able to provide health services that are both
affordable and appropriate."
    James H. Doherty, trustee of the Group Health Foundation and
president and CEO of GHAA, noted, "This program demonstrates the
commitment by HMOs to the employment of minorities in responsible
management positions with unlimited career opportunities."
    While minority applicants will be recruited nationally, the
Group Health Foundation expects that most of the fellows will be
from the Baltimore-Washington area.  Bachelor's level training, a
commitment to the health care field and managerial potential will be
among the criteria for selection.  It is projected that the first
group of 12 fellows will enter the program in January or February
1994.
    Dr. Sullivan said, "In addition to HRSA and Group Health, I
want to congratulate Comprehensive Health Services, a private
corporation located in Detroit that is contributing to the project. 
This is an excellent example of the way the federal government and
the private sector can bring resources together to make a positive
difference."

                              ###