[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]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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