[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 883-884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-200]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Notice of a Cooperative Agreement With Meharry Medical College
The Office of Minority Health (OMH), Office of Public Health and
Science, announces that it will enter into an umbrella cooperative
agreement with Meharry Medical College. This cooperative agreement is
an umbrella cooperative agreement and will establish the broad
programmatic framework in which specific projects can be supported by
various agencies during the project period.
The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to strengthen the
nation's capacity to prepare health professionals from disadvantaged
backgrounds to serve minority populations and to develop a national
model for improving health care delivery to indigent and underserved
citizens. The ultimate goal is to improve the health status of
minorities and disadvantaged people.
Authorizing Legislation
This cooperative agreement is authorized under section 1807(e)(1)
of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.
Background
Assistance will be provided only to Meharry Medical College to
accomplish the objectives of this cooperative agreement because it has
the following combination of factors:
1. Meharry Medical College is the largest private, historically
black institution exclusively dedicated to educating health care
professionals and biomedical scientists in the United States.
2. Meharry Medical College has historically trained a significant
number of African American physicians and dentists in the United
States. Currently, 15 percent of those practicing are Meharry
graduates. Since 1970, Meharry has awarded more than 10 percent of the
Ph.D's in biomedical sciences received by African Americans.
3. The Majority of Meharry's graduates practice in medically
underserved rural and inner city areas.
4. Meharry, a private academic health center, has forged an
agreement with a public hospital to establish a unique model for the
efficient distribution of resources in delivering improved services for
poor and indigent citizens.
This cooperative agreement will be awarded in FY 1999 for a 12-
month budget period within a project period of five-years. Depending
upon the types of projects and availability of funds, it is anticipated
that this cooperative agreement will initially receive approximately
$3,000,000. Continuation awards within the project period will be made
on the basis of satisfactory progress and the availability of funds.
Under this cooperative agreement, OMH will:
1. Meet with Meharry Medical College representatives to discuss and
approve work plans, including objectives, data integrity and
confidentiality, evaluation techniques and budget items;
2. Provide guidance in critical areas, including but not limited to
financing, accounting, and resources management.
3. Review and approve the development of managed care curricula and
evaluation designs; and
4. Review and approve the implementation and dissemination of
relevant project findings, final reports prior to dissemination to
public and private parties.
Meharry will:
1. Devote its best effort to improving the administration and
financing of Meharry Medical College;
2. Develop a plan to integrate residents of other area health
professions institutions into the surgery, OB/GYN and pediatric
services of Metropolitan Nashville General Hospital at the Meharry
campus with the expressed intent of enhancing health service and
education of undergraduate medical students;
3. Develop a plan to create a collaborative relationship between
Meharry's family medicine program and other local higher education
institutions to expand family practice activity throughout middle
Tennessee;
4. Continue to develop an integrated services network between
Meharry's faculty practice plan and other local area health delivery
systems;
5. Carry out plans to improve the quality and quantity of its
faculty; and
6. Work closely and cooperatively with the consultants and
technical assistance supported or provided by HHS.
Where To Obtain Additional Information
If you are interested in obtaining additional information regarding
this project, contact Ms. Mimi Chafin, Division of Program Operations,
Office of Minority Health, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1000, Rockville,
Maryland 20852 or telephone (301) 594-0769.
The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.004.
[[Page 884]]
Dated: December 10, 1998.
Clay E. Simpson, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.
[FR Doc. 99-200 Filed 1-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M
