United Health Foundation Awards
$1 Million to Family Medicine

The United Health Foundation presented a $1 million grant to the Miller School’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health to further fund the foundation’s Center of Excellence at Jefferson Reaves, Sr. Health Center, a Jackson Health System primary care facility in Overtown.The grant will enable the Jefferson Reaves Center, a residency training facility for the Department of Family Medicine, to expand access, improve health care quality, and reduce health disparities. The award increased the foundation’s total support of the center to $5 million.

Reed V. Tuckson, M.D., a United Health Foundation board member, made the February 15 check presentation to UM President Donna E. Shalala, Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Marvin O’Quinn, president and CEO of Jackson Health System, Robert Schwartz, M.D., chair of the Department of Family Medicine, and several other stakeholders in the health center that provides diabetes management, mental health counseling, and a plethora of other health services to the community.

“This gift demonstrates that there are better models for funding health care,” Shalala said. “Insurance is not the only model of providing world-class health care, particularly at the standard we want—and we want a standard that makes certain that everyone receives quality care, whether or not they have insurance.”

Since the initial $1 million grant in 2004 creating the Center of Excellence, tremendous progress has been made at the facility. Goldschmidt described the Jefferson Reaves Center as an example for the rest of the country. “With United Health Foundation support we have been able to create a model that is truly unique and incredibly effective and safe for the patients,” he said.