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Enhancing the capacity of the health care system to address the needs of minority and disadvantaged populations is the goal of the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy. Established in 1996, the program offers a one-year, full-time program of study to future physician-leaders who intend to pursue careers in minority health and health policy. The program is directed by Joan Reede, M.D., dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard Medical School. The fellowship combines an intensive year of training in health policy, public health, and management with special activities focused on minority health issues. Participants in the program complete academic work for a master's degree in public health or public administration. The program usually awards four to five fellowships per year.
A total of 67 physicians, dentists, and other health professionals, including 16 fellows funded by the California Endowment and Delta Dental, have completed the program. Alumni fellows are actively engaged in health policy, research, and service delivery to minority communities. More than half hold appointments at schools of public health or medicine, and many have assumed leadership roles in departments of public health and community health centers. Alumni fellows also hold important positions in federal, state, and local government, including health policy advisor to Senator Barack Obama (D–Ill.); chief medical officer for juvenile justice, state of Florida; commissioner of health in Austin, Texas; and deputy commissioner of health, Baltimore, Md.
This year, the fellowship program continued to develop relationships with state and local health departments and secured support for alumni fellows from HRSA, the Office of Minority Health, and the California Endowment. The program relies on a national advisory committee to provide ongoing mentorship to the fellows and help them identify career opportunities.
Over the past year, several former fellows have had their work published in the peer-reviewed literature. For example, in a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, Amal Trivedi, M.D., M.P.H., concluded that the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries in managed care plans improved over a seven-year period, with racial disparities declining for some measures. (1) Trivedi also published a state-level minority health policy report card in Health Affairs. (2) |
