Molina Healthcare strives for healthy communities & healthy lifestyles

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, Dec, 2002

Molina Healthcare of California has been awarded a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of its Hablamos Juntos Program. The grant aims to improve access to healthcare for Latinos through innovative approaches.

Molina Healthcare was one of ten grantees selected on a national level to receive $150,000 over the next year to design innovative models to improve patient-practitioner communication, including language interpretation services, printed materials, and signage. If the planning phase is successfully completed, each of the grantees will be eligible for a two-year grant of up to $850,000 to implement the proposed model.

The Robert Wood Johnson grant is highly competitive, and this year's grantees were selected from a pool of nearly 180 applicants. By using a rigorous selection criteria ten applicants demonstrating a commitment to serving Spanish-speaking communities were awarded grants through the Program administered by the Claremont, California based Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.

"Latinos are the fastest growing population in California. Our patients tell us that language barriers present problems. We are responding by demonstrating how a health plan can remove those barriers by applying innovative approaches and consulting closely with community leaders," says Dr. Martha Bernadett, MD, MBA, principal investigator.

"Molina Healthcare has been serving Latino communities since 1980 and has a track record of reaching out to meet the needs of community members," adds Margie Akin, Ph.D., cultural anthropologist who leads Molina Healthcare's Community Advisory Committee.

Molina Healthcare of California is an affiliate of Molina Healthcare, Inc., with headquarters in Long Beach, California. Molina Healthcare is among the most experienced managed healthcare companies serving individuals covered under Medicaid, the Health Families Program, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and other government-sponsored health programs.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and healthcare. The Foundation concentrates efforts on assuring that all Americans have access to basic healthcare at reasonable cost, improving care and support for people with chronic health conditions, promoting healthy communities and lifestyles, and reducing the personal, social, and economic harm caused by substance abuse--tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.