UNC – Chapel Hill and the United Health Foundation are partnering in hopes of “expanding access to health care data and informatics educational and professional development resources” to more minority students.

The United Health Foundation is bestowing a three-year, $1.6-million grant to UNC to expand on the foundation of the university’s Carolina Health Informatics Program, or CHIP.

UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said at a Tuesday morning event announcing the grant that this initiative would improve outcomes by having a better understanding of patient situations and best ways to move forward.

“The word analytics is everywhere,” Folt said. “We see it flashing in lights. Because we know that you can have all the information in the world, but if you don’t know what to do with it, it doesn’t really take you anywhere.

“And, of course, this is another part of that advancing toward a goal that’s really shared by all.”

The program is going to work toward opening up resources from the university’s CHIP initiative to students from HBCUs across the state. Governor Roy Cooper said that would be progress toward a better North Carolina.

“Skilled workforce is going to put more money in people’s pockets. Skilled workforce is going to make people better educated. Skilled workforce is going to make people healthier.

“And that’s what this is about today.”

Cooper also took the time on Tuesday morning to say this goal would be furthered if certain policy initiatives were undertaken at the state level, including expanding Medicaid and fully funding Pre-K.

Cooper said that the patient experience would be improved if health care providers across the state were better connected and had easier access to patient data. He said that he experienced this himself when his parents were in failing health.

UnitedHealth Group CEO David Wichmann said the grant that will fund this partnership will help move toward better patient experiences.

“We continue to work hard every day to earn your trust and loyalty one person at a time as we work together to build an even healthier North Carolina,” Wichmann said.

Folt said the groundwork was already in place to move quickly on coordinating with students from the state’s HBCUs to enroll in the program.

“One thing about the [UNC] system is that the universities do work pretty closely in partnership already,” Folt said. “And so I think that makes it easy. It’s not like trying to create partnerships with schools that are not already unified under a common system leadership. So I think that’s exciting.”

Folt said she felt like there would be enough student interest to fill the trainings this year and then the university can work to expand the program in years ahead.

This grant funding will open access to the program and interdisciplinary training in both classroom and online settings.

The first “boot camp” for the program is scheduled for this summer.

More information on the project is available here.

Photo via Blake Hodge

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