Nova Southeastern University Receives Grant From the Health Foundation of South Florida

Nicole Cook, Ph.D.

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla.- December 16, 2013 –

Nova Southeastern University (NSU)’s Master of Public Health program, which is part of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, recently received a $32,000 grant from the Health Foundation of South Florida. The grant award will fund a project which seeks to gather feedback from patients on their care experiences at Health Center Medical Homes in order to identify opportunities that can enhance care delivery.

The goal of the project, which will be completed in collaboration with five Community Health Center Medical Homes in Miami-Dade and Broward County (Borinquen Community Health Center, Broward Community & Family Health Center, Community Health of South Florida, Jessie Trice Community Health Center, and Miami Beach Community Health Center) and Health Choice Network of Florida, is to understand factors related to patient engagement, team-based care and patient experience at the Health Center Medical Homes.

Health Center Medical Homes are health care settings that facilitate partnerships between individual patients, and their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient’s family. Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange and other means to ensure that patients get the appropriate care when and where they need and want it in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.

“What is exciting is that our project directly seeks to understand and improve the patient experience among a low-income, under served population – patients who are often most at-risk of health disparities,” said Nicole Cook, Ph.D., epidemiologist and assistant professor in the Master of Public Health program, who is the project leader.

Findings from this project are expected to identify actionable opportunities that can be implemented to improve the care experience at Health Center Medical Homes in South Florida.

“Medical Homes have shown promise to improve care delivery and patient outcomes,” said Rosalyn Frazier, chief executive officer of Broward Community & Family Health Centers, Inc. “This project will allow us to enhance our transformation to patient-centered medical homes by gathering critical feedback on our patient’s experience with care, specifically in terms of what they believe already works well and what might need to change. Engaging patients through this project will provide us a deeper understanding of how we can continue to provide our communities the highest quality care possible.”

The Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grant making organization, is dedicated to improving health in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. By funding providers and supporting programs to promote health and prevent disease, the Foundation makes a measurable and sustainable impact in the health of individuals and families. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $100 million in grants and program support. For more information, please call 305-374-7200 or visit the website, www.hfsf.org.

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About NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine:  The mission of the College of Osteopathic Medicine is to provide learner-centered education, both nationally and internationally, for osteopathic medical students, postgraduate trainees, and other professionals. Through its interprofessional programs, the college prepares competent and compassionate lifelong learners; supports research, scholarly activity, and community service; and advocates for the health and welfare of diverse populations, including the medically underserved. For more information, visit http://medicine.nova.edu/.

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 314 beautiful acres in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels.  NSU is a not-for-profit independent institution with 27,000 students. NSU awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. NSU is classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and it is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu.

Media contact:

Jeremy Katzman, M.B.A. | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5408 (office)
954-661-7000 (cell)
j.katzman@nova.edu