January 27, 2006

Dear Friend of the Foundation:

The California Wellness Foundation has announced a $1 million grant to Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to implement a public education campaign promoting the benefits of increasing ethnic diversity in the California healthcare workforce. TCWF’s Board of Directors approved the grant to Ogilvy Public Relations in December 2005.

A significant body of research indicates that a workforce that more closely mirrors the racial and ethnic diversity of our state will increase access to care and improve the quality of care that is delivered. We also know that physicians of color typically provide more care for the poor and uninsured, more frequently choosing to practice in areas with shortages of providers than their non-minority peers. As such, building a more diverse community of health professionals is a crucial strategy for improving the health of underserved communities in California.

Recently, national attention has been focused on the need for a diverse health workforce, with groundbreaking reports published by the Institute of Medicine and The Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce. Efforts to advance the reports’ policy agendas are led by the recently established Sullivan Alliance to Transform America's Health Professions, an organization of recognized scholars and policy advocates.

The Sullivan Alliance offers a blueprint for increasing diversity in the health workforce, including improvements in the quality of education options available for students of color, ways of addressing the challenges of financing a postsecondary education, and recommendations for mentoring and support programs at under- and post-graduate institutions.

The $1 million grant from TCWF will enable Ogilvy Public Relations to:

• Produce and disseminate a report on the current state of diversity in the health care workforce, in collaboration with Field Research Corp.;
• Raise public awareness of the issue with ads on cable television and radio stations, beginning in three key markets: Los Angeles/Inland Empire, the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento;
• Inaugurate a public relations campaign for policymakers and opinion leaders, based on policy recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, The Sullivan Commission and key stakeholders across California; and
• Launch a “one-stop shopping” website that will provide comprehensive information (e.g., career paths, training opportunities by geographic location, scholarships and loans, grants, other financial aid and employment opportunities) about health careers in California.

The campaign is one component of a comprehensive approach the Foundation uses to increase workforce diversity. Since 2002, the Foundation has awarded 101 grants totaling more than $15 million to organizations that provide: pipeline programs, scholarships, and retention programs; internships and fellowships; and loan repayment programs for ethnic minorities who are underrepresented in the health professions.

For more information on the Foundation or the campaign, visit the News Room section at www.tcwf.org. The site’s Publications section also features a recent Reflections edition on this topic.

Sincerely,

Gary L. Yates
President and Chief Executive Officer