FSMB Foundation Awards $100,000 in COVID-19 State Response Grants
Four organizations awarded $25,000 each to study state and health care entities’ response to COVID-19; identify ways to better prepare for future emergencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2021) The FSMB Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), has awarded four organizations a total of $100,000 in grant funding for projects to study the way states and health systems have responded to health care impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The long-term goal of the FSMB Foundation COVID-19 grants program is to support the development and implementation of sustainable models and policies that can guide state preparedness and responses to similar emergencies in the future, as well as their capacity for recovery planning. The program also intends to promote health equity and reduce disparities in health care.
“COVID-19 has caused the medical regulatory and health care system in the United States to adapt to rapidly evolving policies and strategies to best meet the needs of patients,” said Janelle A. Rhyne, MD, MACP, President of the FSMB Foundation. “The FSMB Foundation is proud to award funding to deserving organizations that will study the impact of these changes and help guide regulators and policymakers in developing best practices on how to better prepare and respond to future public health emergencies.”
The FSMB Foundation awarded grant funding to the following organizations:
1.) Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY)
Project description and goals: AMSNY will examine the efforts undertaken in New York State during the COVID-19 pandemic to graduate eligible medical students early in order to create a pathway to temporary licensure, thereby mitigating physician workforce shortages during the height of the public health crisis.
Project description and goals: HonorHealth Foundation will focus on assessing the impact of telehealth strategies in impacting health equity outcomes for patients in primary care settings and identify both patient and provider experience to accessing care via telemedicine vs in-person care.
3.) Ohio Physicians Health Program (OPHP)
Project description and goals: OPHP will work with an accredited researcher to create an assessment designed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted physicians and other healthcare professionals and what regulations are needed to prepare for a public health emergency in the future.
4.) Center for Connected Health Policy and Public Health Institute
Project description and goals: The project will focus on pinpointing Medicaid reimbursement and medical board regulatory strategies for the effective and safe delivery of health care via an audio-only telephone modality in the FQHC setting, and to present and disseminate the findings in a way that can inform policymakers and regulators.
To learn more about the work of the FSMB Foundation please visit the FSMB Foundation’s homepage.
About the FSMB Foundation
The mission of the FSMB Foundation is to support and promote research and education initiatives that strengthen the safety and quality of health care through effective medical regulation. At the heart of the Foundation’s mission – and what makes it unique among other health care foundations – is that it is focused on improving the long-term effectiveness and viability of the nation’s state medical board system as a means of achieving safer, higher quality health care.
By funding research and education initiatives that strengthen, support and advance the work of these boards, the FSMB Foundation contributes to the safety of patients and the quality of the care they receive. The Foundation is supported by a generous seed endowment from the FSMB, but it operates as a separate 501c3 organization, enabling it to advance its philanthropic goals.