The University’s Academic Health Center (AHC) has been awarded $12.6 million to find the best ways to prepare health professional students to work in the nation’s fast-changing health care environment.
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in September awarded the AHC $4 million over five years to lead the new Coordinating Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Four national foundations will contribute another $8.6 million to the center, which will develop new models that emphasize collaborative practice among health professionals, particularly in underserved areas.
The goal is to meet the charge of the Affordable Health Care Act to develop more responsive health care organizations that lead to lower costs, better patient outcomes, more efficient services, and higher levels of satisfaction among health care providers. “We all share the vision of a U.S. health care system that engages patients, families, and communities in collaborative, team-based care,” says HRSA administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.
Barbara Brandt, Ph.D., the AHC’s associate vice president for education, is the project’s principal investigator and director. She will work with other national leaders to build partnerships with training and health delivery sites around the country.
