Kaiser donates to UCLA health equity center
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 8, 2009 11:10 p.m.
Kaiser Permanente recently donated $5.2 million to the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity to allow the center to continue its efforts to equalize health disparities.
The center aims to reduce the differences in health and rates of disease and death among varying groups based on ethnic backgrounds, income levels and other factors, by equalizing health care for all in need.
The endowment will create a regular income for the center, which will only spend the interest generated from the invested $5.2 million. Antronette Yancey, co-director of the Center for Health Equity and professor of health services, hopes this system will allow the center to operate indefinitely.
Half of the interest will be spent on funding research and holding “brown bag” seminars, which will encourage faculty to share their research with one another, Yancey said.
This research is especially relevant now as the poor economy is aggravating the nation’s health disparities, and an increasing number of people are losing their jobs and health coverage, said Angela Coron, community benefit director at Kaiser Permanente.
“The timing now is critical. … Together, we are able to do more than either one of us can do on our own,” Coron said.
Although primarily focused on Southern California, the center strives to improve health care in the entire state and the country, Yancey said. Many studies in the center are jointly studied in other locations, and as a result, UCLA researchers must work with other investigators from across the country and, at times, other countries, she said.
Ultimately, the center tries to reach as many people as possible by using its research to push for effective changes in the community. In an effort to spread the proposed policies and encourage its practice, the center provides assistance to schools by training employees and supplying materials, such as DVDs, that may guide teachers to successfully implement these policies, Yancey said.
Many of the investigators are also involved in policy work to enforce action that may slowly eliminate these health disparities.
For example, Yancey said she recently helped draft legislation for a New York congresswoman to incorporate physical activity into the classroom.
Since the center’s founding in 2004, researchers have had the opportunity to pursue lines of studies that typically would not have received funding. For instance, students and younger faculty members have been able to choose and develop their own research projects, Yancey said.
Although the center was established for only five years ago, the research has been in progress for about 20 years, funded by the federal and state government, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute and other organizations, Yancey said.
The people involved include government and academic employees and investigators from private and nonprofit organizations. Professors involved come from a number of different schools within UCLA, such as the School of Nursing, the School of Public Policy and Social Research and the School of Public Health.
In the past, Kaiser has provided funding for the California Health Interview Survey and other reports done by UCLA researchers and has donated medical equipment and supplies to UCLA.
The other half of the interest will go to the students. The effort will provide a greater number of opportunities for UCLA students who are interested in health equity in all departments, not limited to the School of Public Health. Thus, more students will be able to participate in health equity research projects and activities, said Roshan Bastani, co-director of the Center and professor of health services.
“The faculty loves working with students because they bring energy, vitality and ideas into our work,” Bastani said.
Students can access presentations the center hosts and the results of its studies at ww.healthequity.ucla.edu.
