[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 112 (Monday, June 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33751-33752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9036]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Announcement of Cooperative Agreement With Morehouse School of 
Medicine

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the 
Secretary, Office of Public Health and Science, Office of Minority 
Health.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Funding Title: Cooperative Agreement with Morehouse School of 
Medicine.
    Announcement Type: Initial Announcement.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 93.004.

DATES: July 1, 2006.
SUMMARY: This announcement is made by the United States Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS or Department), Office of Minority 
Health (OMH) located within the Office of Public Health and Science 
(OPHS), and working in a ``One-Department'' approach collaboratively 
with participating HHS agencies and programs (entities). The mission of 
the OMH is to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority 
populations through the development of policies and programs that 
address disparities and gaps. OMH serves as the focal point in the HHS 
for leadership, policy development and coordination, service 
demonstrations, information exchange, coalition and partnership 
building, and relation efforts to address the health need of racial and 
ethnic minorities. This announcement supports the Healthy People 2010 
overarching goal to eliminate health disparities.
    As part of a continuing HHS effort to improve the health and well 
being of racial and ethnic minorities, the Department announces a sole 
source umbrella cooperative agreement award to the Morehouse School of 
Medicine.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Authority: This program is authorized under 42 U.S.C. 300 u-6, 
section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.
    1. Recipient: Morehouse School of Medicine.

[[Page 33752]]

    2. Purpose of the Award: To strengthen the nation's capacity to 
prepare health professionals to serve minority populations and to 
address the elimination of racial/ethnic health disparities. The 
ultimate goal is to improve the health status of minorities and 
disadvantaged people and increase the diversity of the health-related 
workforce.
    3. Amount of Award: $400,000 for the initial project.
    4. Project Period: Umbrella Cooperative Agreement: 4 years (July 1, 
2006-June 30, 2010); Project: 1 year (July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007).
    5. Justification: Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is a 
historically black institution established to recruit and train 
minority and other students as physicians, biomedical scientists, and 
public health professionals committed to the primary healthcare needs 
of the underserved.
--MSM has the only legislatively mandated National Center for Primary 
Care in the United States. MSM, through its National Center for Primary 
Care, conducts training programs, quality improvement programs, and 
real-world practice-based research in partnership with approximately 
150 community and migrant health centers in eight Southeastern states.
--MSM maintains the leading faculty development program in the nation 
for preparing African American faculty for U.S. medical schools and 
primary care residency training programs.
--MSM established an infrastructure throughout the South to address the 
impact of natural disasters in minority communities. In FY 2005, MSM 
received $5 million in HHS support to develop a strategic response 
infrastructure between Centers of Excellence in Partnerships for 
Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (EXPORT 
Centers), community health centers, and primary care practices. In 
addition, MSM has also exemplified leadership in addressing mental 
health needs via telemedicine and has created electronic health records 
for patients affected by recent hurricanes.
--The nation currently faces a shortage of primary care physicians, 
with more physicians approaching retirement and fewer graduating 
medical students entering into primary care. A collaboration with MSM, 
which is the leading school in the nation for graduates remaining in 
primary care practices, will help increase the number of students 
entering into primary care.
--Eighty-four percent of MSM M.D. graduates practice in medically 
underserved areas.
    6. MSM Responsibilities and Activities: MSM will focus on enhancing 
faculty and leadership development through cultivating diverse research 
investigators. MSM will also develop a non-traditional pipeline 
approach involving a network of academic/community partnerships to 
guide students from underserved communities into careers in the health 
professions, focusing on the mission of eliminating health disparities. 
As the recipient of an umbrella cooperative agreement, it is expected 
that MSM will also implement and manage additional projects that will 
assist in fostering partnerships with the nation's minority-serving 
health professions schools to: support faculty in residency programs, 
meet the challenges of providing academic opportunity for disadvantaged 
students, and improve health care services in underserved communities.
    Sample activities can include:
    Conducting workshops for faculty from other minority-serving health 
professions schools;
    Increasing the number of faculty researchers from minority-serving 
health professions schools participating in collaborative research on 
health disparities or data re-use agreements;
    Engaging junior or mid-career faculty in career development/
scholarly support, including mentoring and technical assistance;
    Working with academic institutions, community-based practitioners, 
and health centers to create feeder programs by which students 
participate in health professional career paths at the local level and 
are then placed in summer programs at the medical school; and Building 
partnerships between community-based organizations, local school 
districts, and health professions schools so that the programs of each 
entity create a continuum of experiences for students interested in 
pursuing health careers.
    In addition, anticipated project results are to be consistent with 
the overall Program purpose. Project results should fall within the 
following general categories:
    Recruiting and training health professionals to serve underserved 
and minority communities.
    Increasing knowledge and awareness of minority health care issues.
    Increasing access.
    Changing behavior and utilization.
    Mobilizing communities, coalitions, and networks.
    Policy Research.
    7. OMH Expectations: It is intended that the Umbrella Cooperative 
Agreement with Morehouse School of Medicine will ultimately result in:
    Increased interest of youth from underserved communities in 
pursuing careers in the health arena.
    Increased number of individuals from underserved communities 
recruited and trained for careers in health fields.
    Increased number of faculty researchers who can influence the 
national conversation on health disparities and become leaders in 
academic scholarship.
    It is intended that the initial, one-year project will result in:
    Identification of partners and development of specific elements 
that will contribute towards the development and cultivation of diverse 
research investigator scholars who can influence the national 
conversation on health disparities and become leaders in academic 
scholarship.
    Identification of partners and development of specific elements for 
developing and cultivating networks to feed the pipeline of students 
entering the health professions to serve minority populations and 
address health disparities.
    8. OMH Responsibilities and Activities: At a minimum, substantial 
federal programmatic involvement will include the following:
    Participation in the design and direction of the activities.
    Review and approval of each stage of a project prior to beginning a 
subsequent stage.
    Approval of evaluation plans/tools.
    Evaluation of progress through ongoing communication, reports, site 
visits, etc.
    9. Name and address of awarding office official to be contacted for 
further information: For questions related to the Cooperative Agreement 
with Morehouse School of Medicine, contact Ms. Cynthia Amis, Director, 
Division of Program Operations, Office of Minority Health, Tower 
Building, Suite 600, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852. Ms. 
Amis can be reached by telephone at (240) 453-8444.

    Dated: May 31, 2006.
Garth N. Graham,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.
[FR Doc. E6-9036 Filed 6-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-29-P