Press Releases: National
April 11, 2005
Kaiser Permanente Receives Mary Eliza Mahoney Award For Improving Minority Access To Health Care
OAKLAND, Calif. – During its Annual Leadership Summit on Health Disparities, National Minority Health Month Foundation (NMHMF) will award Kaiser Permanente the 2005 Mary Eliza Mahoney Award, an honor given to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to improving access to health care in minority communities.
"This award is in recognition of the outstanding work that Kaiser Permanente has done to ensure that minorities have access to the best possible care," said Gary Puckrein, Executive Director, NMHMF.
Dr. Winston F. Wong, Clinical Director of the Community Benefit for Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute, will accept the award named after America’s first African American professional nurse. Mary Eliza Mahoney graduated from the New England Hospital for Women and Children Training School for Nurses in 1879.
In reviewing Kaiser Permanente’s work to improve access to health care in minority populations, the NMHMF found particularly impressive a diabetes study conducted by Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute (KPCMI). The study sought to see how KPCMI’s data on chronic illness cross-related to the Foundation’s data as it pertains to end-stage renal disease, a complication of having diabetes. The Foundation applies evidence-based solutions to health care disparities using zip code data.
"The goal was to provide some validation to our understanding of the prevalence of disparities in African American and Hispanic populations by zip code," said Winston F. Wong, MD, KPCMI’s Clinical Director for Community Benefit.
"Our work with the National Minority Health Month Foundation is an example of how collaborative partnership elevates our national understanding of the roots of disparities in health outcomes provide opportunities for us to focus our efforts to improve racial and ethnic health care disparities," " said Dr. Wong. " For Kaiser Permanente, it represents a tremendous opportunity to understand how we, as the nation’s largest integrated delivery system, can work with others to It is important for Kaiser Permanente to understand how its integrated delivery system can potentially impact such things as access, services, cultural competence, and linguistic isolation in health car , and put in its place a system of care whose hallmarks are quality and cultural competence."
One way of focusing on improving Kaiser Permanente’s delivery of care is through Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Culturally Competent Care, which provides training, tools, and resources for Kaiser Permanente providers and clinicians to enhance cross-cultural communication during the clinical encounter.
Says Nilda Chong, MD, director of the Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Culturally Competent Care: "We have launched eight Centers of Excellence in Culturally Competent Care. The Centers develop innovative approaches to caring with respect and sensitivity for our diverse membership."
"Our work contributes to decreasing disparities in health for culturally diverse populations, and we are delighted to be recognized as a model for the nation," said Dr. Chong.
April is National Minority Health Month. The Foundation will wrap up the month with its Annual Leadership Summit on Health Disparities on April 26-27, 2005 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. To register, please go to www.nmhmfsummit.org or contact (202)-223-7560.
The National Minority Health Month Foundation is a 501c3 organization that promotes the building of coalitions and evidence-based solutions towards the elimination of health disparities.
The Care Management Institute is a unique, pioneering institution with a mandate to drive, fund, and catalyze evidence-based population care and disease management activities throughout Kaiser Permanente.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
