UCLA School of Public Health Newsletter - Spring 1996

SCHOOL OF

PUBLIC HEALTH DEAN'S MESSAGE

New M.P.H. Program

T

SKILLS FOR A NEW ERA

here are the physicians in private practice - a vascular surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a gastroenterologist, an ob/gyn, and others. Another heads a major medical group. Two come from Santa Barbara County Health Care Services, where one heads t he department and the other is director of public health. One is a financial analyst for a leading HMO, another works in marketing and sales for a competitor. There is a pharmacist and there is a nurse, both with ties to the L.A. County health system.

In many ways, the 19 students in the inaugural class of the school's M.P.H. for Health Professionals Program represent an eclectic mix.

In other ways, they couldn't be more cohesive.

Nearly all of them are at mid-career, successful, and at a crossroads. In one way or another, they all have witnessed the profound effects of managed care and other changes in the health care system. And, while retaining their professional positions, each has returned to school for an intensive two-year, two-weekends-amonth program to acquire the skills that will enable them to thrive.

Dr. Paul Torrens, professor of health services and director of the health services track of the M.P.H. for Health Professionals Program, says his biggest continued on page 4

Lately you may have noticed a split format in this publication: a newsletter in the winter, followed by a magazine in the spring.

With this issue, we become uniform. A 12-page newsletter will be published not twice but three times a year - in the fall, winter and spring.

There's something to be said for consistency, but the change has more to do with two other "c" words. The new format is designed to give you information that is current and concise. (A notable exception to the shorter articles is each issue's cover story, wh ich will examine school-related activities in greater depth.)

Wherever possible, we have included contact names and numbers for anyone interested in further information on a topic.

For add itional comments or req uests, please contact these people or let me hear from you. For more information on any specific department, please contact the department chair.

The aim of this publication is to keep you abreast of the outstanding contributions our students, faculty, staff and alumni make to the field of public health. In doing so, we hope to reinforce your pride in what this school has produced, and encourage your involvement in helping to ensure our continued success.

Abdelmonem A. Afifi, Ph.D.

2 What 's Brewing

Symposium To Celebrate School's 35th Anniversary

L OCAL HEALTH OFFICERS MEETING SIGNALS

To commemorate the school's 35th anniversary, a day-long symposium will be held on the UCLA campus Oct. 29.

The event is scheduled to beg in at 10 a.m. with refreshments, followed by a lecture and luncheon at UCLA's Griffin Commons . After lunch , attendees will participate in smaller group discussions.

The 22nd Annual Leste r Bres low Distingu ished Lectureship will be the morning's featured event. The luncheon that follows will honor charter members of the school's faculty, along with senior emeriti faculty (ages 80 and above) .

Members of one or both groups include Ors. Roslyn B. Alfin-Slater, Lester Breslow, Wilfrid J. Dixon, Olive J. Dunn , Carl E. Hopkins, Edward B. Johns, Alfred H. Katz, Edward L. Rada, Milton I. and Ruth J. Roemer, and Marian E. Swendseid.

In the afternoon , the celebration will move to the school for an open house and break-out sessions hosted by each of the school's departments and interdepartmental centers.

Anyone interested in attending or receiving further information should call John D. Miller, director of development, at (310) 825-6464.

NEW ERA OF COLLABORATION WITH ACADEMIA

A

s part of a n ewly established collaboration between California's four schools of public health and local public health departments, the UCLA School of Public H ealth hosted the semi-annual meeting of the California Conference of Local Health Officers (CCLHO) May 1-3.

The deans of the California Schools of Public Health (CSPH) and the CCLHO recently signed a statement of collaboration in order to enhance the link between academia and public health practice. At the May meeting , faculty m embers from UCLA and the other California schools of public health were among those offering continuing education to the CCLHO practitioners. (The continuing education program, "Violence in America: A Continuing Public Health Emergency," was sponsored by the Health Officers

UCLAI f.rraL1c HEALTH Volume 16, Number 2 Sp r ing 1996

EDITOR IAL BOARD

Al>delmonem A . Afifi, Ph.D.

Abclelmonem A. Afi.fi, P h .D.

1Jea11

Dean

Juclith M. Siegel, Ph.D .

Associate Dean for Academic Programs

Lawrence R. Ash, Ph.D. Dan Gm·don Editor aud lVrit.er

Associate Dean for Student, A}Jairs

V. Ga le Win ting Associate Dean for Administrat-ion

Mai·tha \Vidmann Art Di.rector

John D. Miller Director of Development

Thomas Rice, Ph.D. Professor, Hecd th Services Photography:

AS UCLA

Jeremy Taylor, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Biostatistic::;

Joyce A. Page, B .S . '69,

M.S.P.H. '74, J.D .

1.,C1..-l l'11b/ic ll• ·,,/1/1 i8 publ i• h•·•I h)· llu: UCLA ::irhwl of l'ulJli.- l t,•;ihhfortlo•·u lurnni .fu <·uh y.

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r igh • l \1,6 11)· Th e B,·~eul s of Ili c .,f California. l\·r1olti~io 11 10 reprim uny f'(>rlioro of UC l..JI 1'11blfr lle<1/t/1 nm•I be uhrni u ... I fro m 111 .. t- diH1r. C., 111ar1 Etli1<1r , UCl..A /'ub/ir llo·oltli. n.,.~ 95]j72. Lo ~ An!("l..i.

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CA90095- 1772.(:llO) l:l2:>-6.'SU 1.

Alumni Association Representative

Thanh-Nghia Nguyen President , Public Heu.Ith Stu.dents Assodarion

Warren Robak Public luformation Rep resentutive

Association of California in collaboration with the UCLA School of Public Health, the CCLHO , and the California Department of Health Services.)

Dean Abdelmonem A. Mifi hosted the traditional CCLHO Direc tor's Dinner at the UCLA Faculty Center; S. Kimberly Belshe, director of the California Department of Health Services, was the featured speaker.

"This conference is evidence of a highly successful collaborative effort to bring the research and evaluation perspective of academia together with the practice-based experience of city and county health department officials in a learning environment," says Dr. George Flores, CCLHO president. "We look forward to developing future learning opportunities to enhance the state's local h ealth department work force."

3 In Brief

New County OHS Director Welcomed at Luncheon

Welcome

Current Info

• About UCLA • Reseorch ot UCLA • Campus Ma • more

•Hotline

People & Depts

lllil:Waries

Compus Directories

._...._..._.

•more

• ORION · • Selected Resources 80ther Web Sites•more

Aca~emic Dept. Servers.

Admin, Servers •more

Campus Services

UCLA School of Public Health

Admin. Services

Computing & Comm

Alumni Association

~S1udep1

A (Web) Site to Be Seen The UCLA School of Public Health has pulled onto the information superhighway with a new Web site designed to serve the needs of the school's diverse constituencies.

By calling up the UCLA home page at http://www.ucla.edu, then following the department server links to public health, anyone with access to the World Wide Web can find the school's home page. From there, links are available (though at press time, some remained under construction) to all of the school's departments and research units, as well as a variety of sites aimed at specific audiences: ALUMNI The new site offers the school's graduates the opportunity to exchange information about their whereabouts, call attention to job opportunities, and reestablish old ties. "This will also provide a mechanism for current students and prospective applicants to see what a career in public health is like," says Dr. William Cumberland , professor of biostatistics and head of the school 's computing committee, which has facilitated the effort.

Cumberland intends to provide alumni with a place to post information about themselves; he is also encouraging those who have their own home pages to provide their link addresses so that Web browsers could make the easy jump from one page to the next.

CURRENT STUDENTS Already, faculty at the school have begun posting information regarding their courses for current students. Faculty can also conduct "virtual office hours" in which students' questions and profes-

Affajn;, Ap p !ka!i(}ns

DI rrm Rfls:as1 and News

sors' answers are posted and accessible to everyone in the course.

PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS Individuals considering applying to the school can get informati on about the school and the application process through a link designed for their needs.

FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL The school's development office wi ll offer information on gift opportunities for donors and potential donors.

GENERAL AUDIENCES Finally, the site will enable access to the publications, news rel eases, technical reports , and other documents from the school, its departments, and its research units - information potentially of inte rest to everyone from policymakers to the public at large.

"All of our constituencies will be well served," asserts Cumberland.

PH Improvement Project to Assess State's Systems The UCLA School of Public Health has played a leading role in organizing the California Public Health Improvement Project, a partnership among the state's four schools of public health, county health officers , and the state health department. The project, which received funding from Blue Cross of California, wil l assess the state's pu blic health systems, identify needs and develop a plan of action.

Mark Finucane, who was appointed director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in January, was welcomed to the area's public health community Feb. 28 at a luncheon jointly sponsored by the UCLA School of Public Health, Southern California Public Health Association, and Public Health Foundation Enterprises.

The 300-plus in attendance were treated to a presentation by Finucane, who now heads the nation's second-largest health system and is responsible for six hospitals, three residential rehabilitation centers, six comprehensive health centers, 39 other health centers, and a wide range of public health programs.

Finucane also used the opportunity to announce his acceptance of the school 's invitation to deliver the keynote address at this year's commencement ceremonies (see page 2). "He indicated very strongly his desire to see public health not only maintained, but enhanced in the future," says Dr. James R. Greenwood, director of environmental health and safety at UCLA, president of the Southern California Public Health Association and adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, who helped to organize the event.

• Sanville Lecture Focuses On Health Promotion Dr. Lester Breslow spoke on "The Meaning of Health Promotion" at the Sanville/De lta Omega Lecture and Awards Ceremony May23.

Breslow, professor emeri tus of health se rvices , gave the Richard Sanville Memorial Lecture, which honors the late alumnus (M.P.H. '67) who worked with disadvantaged populations in the fields of family planning and mental health services.

"Beyond control of comm unicable and non-communicable diseases, I believe health promotion represents the building of health, which means the capacities that are needed for living and enjoying life ," Breslow to ld UCLA Public Health in advance of the speech.

At the same event, 19 students, six faculty and four alumni were elected to The Delta Omega Society, the national scholastic honorary society in public health (see page 6).

4 continued from page 1

NEW M.P.H. PROGRAM: SKILLS FOR A NEW ERA surprise in talking with the first class of students has been the depth and rapidity of change and the impact that change has had on the lives of many health care professionals. "If you sit down and talk with them, they'll tell you their income has dropped, their job security is considerably less, and the strength of their programs is in doubt," says Torrens.

Many of the students in the program simply want to gain a better understanding of the changes afoot. " There are so many changes and they're happening so rapidly that many of these professionals are seeing things in their part of the woods, but they don't see the whole forest," Torrens says.

"They want to know, 'Where do I fit in?' 'What role is there for somebody like me?' 'What skills do I need to be effective?' And, 'How can I have a positive influence on the changes taking place?'"

The majority of the students are physicians, many in the private sector.

While students working in the public sector and in managed care organizations are more likely to have enrolled in the hopes of becoming more effective in their current position, many of the private-sector physicians are considering a change of career.

"I was surprised at how few public health professionals there were," says Steven Escoboza, director of Santa Barbara County Health Services. "My sense is that many of these privatepractice physicians are concerned about what's happening to them, and

decided several years ago that he was unhappy with the way the changes in the health care system were affecting his ability to practice. Feeling the early pangs of burnout, he opted for business school. About the time he was completing the executive M.B.A. program at UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management, Spigelman began talking with Torrens about the soon-to-be-launched program in the School of Public Health.

"The Anderson program was wonderful, but it wasn't specific to health ," Spigelman says. " I knew I wanted to stay in the health care arena and there was still a gap in my exposure to the business side of health care.

When this program became available, it was beautiful timing for me."

Spigelman is most interested in the impact of the changing health care environment on hospitals, and how they will have to modify their traditional roles in order to survive. they want to understand the relationship between public health and the way private practice seems to be heading."

I

n the case of Escoboza and Dr. Elliot Schulman, the top two health officials in Santa Barbara County, it was a matter of acquiring formal public health training at a time when the county is focusing less on direct patient care , choosing instead to emphasize classic public health tenets such as prevention and population-based services.

The UCLA program, says Escoboza, has allowed him to step back and reflect on the big picture after years of involvement in the day-to-day activities of a public health department.

Schulman, Santa Barbara's health officer/medical director who has assumed direct supervision over the population-based services, is a physician without any previous academic training in public h ealth. "I had the bricks; I needed the mortar," he says.

Dr. Ari Spigelman, on the other hand, is rebuilding altogeth er - leaving a successful 23-year practice as a vascular surgeon in favor of a career in hospital administration. Spigelman

Dr. Wes Bradford, who left a solo practice five years ago to join a large medical group practice, believes that even physicians ensconced in the managed care arena need skills to h elp them adapt better to the changing environment.

Of his own experience, Bradford, who also teaches in the Harbor-UCLA family practice r esiden cy program , says : "This has broadened my horizons about what's available not only for future career opportunities, but also for improving how I adapt to the new ways where I am now."

Michelle Whorton is on the other

5 "This program, then, becomes a very interesting mix of idealism and pragmatism."

The greatest challenge, Torrens notes, is to keep the curriculum relevant amid the rapid-fire changes occurring in the field. At the same time, he adds, "We don't want to become so focused on the trends that we lose track of the basic principles of public health and good health care.

We need to strike a balance."

In doing so, the program's faculty has relied heavily on the first group of students. "They are partners in the development of this curriculum," Torrens says. "They have a great deal to offer in terms of feedback."

Indeed, the students learn not only from their teachers, but from each other. "We have an opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues that most of us don't get in the course of our normal work experience," says Escoboza. end of the changes: The senior fmancial analyst for major accounts at PacifiCare of California came to the program with a background in group insurance. Her company is helping to pay for her education with the intention of moving Whorton into a management position in PacifiCare 's Provider Relations Department.

"I'm a specialist, and our organization is getting flatter," Whorton explains. "I wanted to have more breadth, because in management here you are responsible for several different areas, and you need a broader understanding of the health care environment."

Whorton jokes that she was in a position of having to defend the concept of managed care to those among her classmates who were adversely affected by it. "In the beginning, you could see the hostility toward some of the guest speakers from managed care organizations," she says. "But as people understand the issues better, the hostilities decrease."

Like Whorton, Barbara Pavey, a registered nurse, wanted to broaden her skills. Unlike many of the others, Pavey, the assistant to the medical director for the L.A. County Department of Health Services, had thought about returning to school for her M.P.H. long before the health care system entered these tumultuous times.

"The major obstacle for me was always that I couldn't fit it into a realistic work schedule," she says. "When I heard about this program being offered on weekends, that seemed ideal."

Pavey, who has a particular interest in health ethics, wants to become more directly involved in policy-making, and felt she needed more academic training to do so. "Before this program, I had no conception of things like the intricacies of fmancing, the history of health care, and research methods," she says.

"After two years, I will have accumulated a lot of useful information, and will be a more educated person. That's very important to me."

S

tudents come to the program in search of tangible skills, Torrens notes. But along with the training they receive in management, organization, fmance and information systems, the program provides a public health framework.

"One without the other doesn't make any sense," Torrens explains.

"You can have the commitment to social action and community, but without the financial skills you might not be able to function. On the other hand, you might have the best management skills in the world, but if you don't understand the genesis of our problems and the way things are going, you have no sense of purpose.

Spigelman agrees, adding that the commonality of purpose among the students makes for an especially cohesive unit.

"From the first meeting," he reports, "we became instant friends and colleagues."

For more information on the M.P.H. for Health Professionals Program, contact Judith Levin, program coordinator, at (310) 206-3435.

Pictured on the cover are (I. to r. ) Drs. Olga Mohan, James Orecklin and Mark Wittman, all students in the program; other students include Dr. Daniel Cole (page 4, first column) and Steven Escoboza (this page, last column). Dr. Paul Torrens (page 4, second column) directs the program and Dr. Roshan Bastani (page 4, third column) is one of the lecturers.

6 Award Winners The following students, faculty and alumni were selected by their departments to be inducted into the prestigious Delta Omega Society, Iota Chapter - the honorary society for graduate studies in public health:

STUDENTS

Biostatistics Alex Fleishman Chih-Yi Joy King HongjianYu Community Health Sciences Noushin Bayat Lauren B. Gherman Nicole Littenberg Anne M. McMunn Environmental Health Sciences Andre Barton Ashley, Jr. Laura M. Bloch Jerry Ho Barbara Chung Kim Epidemiology Corinne C. Aragaki Janet M. Blair Jeanette Jane Rainey Carolyn J. Sachs Health Services Pamela L. Davidson Suzanne Futterman Lori Pelliccioni James Whitlock FACULTY

Biostatistics Dr. Robert E. Weiss Dr. Weng Kee Wong Community Health Sciences Dr. Deborah Glik Dr. Neal Halton Environmental Health Sciences Dr. L. Donald Duke Epidemiology Dr. Scott P. Layne ALUMNI

Biostatistics Dr. Thomas B. Farver Dr. Mei-Miau Wu Community Health Sciences Michael Prelip Environmental Health Sciences Pablo Cicero-Fernandez

The Public Health Career Conference, held May 11 , is part of the Public Healt h Career Resource Center's effort to recruit and retain more underrepresented minorities. Inset: Valerie Riggs, the cent e r's director.

CAREER RESOURCE CENTER BUILDS BRIDG E S

U

nder the auspices of the new Public Health Career Resource Center, the school has fortified efforts in two important studentrelated areas: ensuring a diverse student population and assisting students as they move into public health jobs.

Indeed, the school's commitment to the recruitment and retention of more underrepresented minorities, supported for many years by a federal grant, did not end when the funding expired.

The Diversity Enrichment Program picks up where the Health Careers Opportunity Program left off - seeking to attract more students from ethnic groups whose ranks in the public health field are small, and to help these students flourish once enrolled at the school. " It says an awful lot about the commitment of the dean and the school's faculty and administration that this program is being supported regardless of the lack of outside funding," says Valerie Riggs, the center's director. "They recognize the importance of having a group of students as diverse as the population the students will serve once they graduate."

Riggs has begun revisiting the HCOP programs to determine which were successful and are worth continuing, and has been talking to current

and past students about potentially worthwhile new programs. The Public Health Career Conference , which was held May 11, attracted 157 minority undergraduates and included presentations from each of the school's departments, information on applying to the school, and discussions with current students and recent graduates . Riggs has also organized a Diversity Advisory Council made up of students , alumni and faculty.

"We think one of the r easons a lot of minority students are not applying to schools of public health is that they don ' t have a good under standing of what the field is about, " Riggs sa ys .

"We need that to change."

Meanwhile , the Career Development Program represents a schoolwide effort to establish a center wher e all students can gain information about job opportunities and learn career development skills through workshops and seminars.

"We will be working with students who are unsure about what they want to do with their experience and skills, as well as those who are simply looking for the right organization for them ," Riggs explains. A bank of computer s will also allow students to visit the center and conduct their own searches.

COURSE PROFILE

Mass Communication and Public Health

T

wice a week during the past Winter Quarter, 10 UCLA School of Public Health students attended CHS 298D, a course focusing on "media advocacy" as a way to advance public health initiatives.

Guided by one of the nation's leading experts on the subject, they learned about the news media's role in identifying, defining, and shaping how society responds to significant public health issues. They mulled strategies for effectively using the news media to promote issues such as violence prevention and maintenance of California's motorcycle helmet law.

And here's the twist: While these students met in a room within UCLA's Center for the Health Sciences, the lecturer himself - Dr. Lawrence Wallack - was in Berkeley.

Through the magic of technology, the UCLA students became part of Wallack's UC Berkeley School of Public Health course. The UCLA class was wired for both sound and video so that the students could see and talk to the professor and students in Berkeley, and vice versa. It was the school's first foray into distance learning, but not its last.

"This gives students more choices," says Dr. Deborah Glik, associate professor of community health sciences, who facilitated the UCLA end of the course. "It allows them to learn about subjects that don't fall within the expertise of our faculty. We didn't offer a media advocacy course, and the expert nationally was up at Berkeley, so why not take advantage?"

That expert is Wallack, who adds: "Even in the best of times, public health is such a broad discipline that no school can capture all of the expertise. This is a way of spreading it around, a way to enhance the intellectual and learning environment of the students."

To be sure, the format had its limitations. The presence of cameras and microphones, and the inability for

''[Distance learning} gives students more choices.

It allows thRm to learn about subjects that don't fall within thR expertise of our faculty. " DR. D EBORA H G u K

everyone to see everything at once, created an environment of formality.

"It's somewhat of a contrived situation," says second-year M.P.H. student Katy Minnium. "It was difficult to interact on the same level as if you were present in the classroom."

"At times it was frustrating," agrees Nina Halper, also a secondyear M.P.H. student. "You felt like you were observing someone else's class, and just didn't have the same ability to participate."

But neither student regrets having taken the course - far from it.

Working as part of a group of four students, they developed and implemented a two-pronged media advocacy strategy designed to prevent the repeal of California's motorcycle helmet law. The students have continued to pursue the strategy even after the course ended. (Similarly, another group has continued its work with the Violence Prevention Coalition.)

Both believe future distance learning courses could do things better for instance, the UCLA students could not see the professor and the Berkeley students simultaneously, affecting the dynamics. Still, says Halper: "It's amazing that we were able to do this at all. I would definitely recommend this class to other students."

M.P.H. students (I. to r.) Celina Gorre, Katy Minnium and Nina Halper were part of a group that i mplemented a media advocacy project designed to prevent the repeal of California's motorcycle helmet law.

8 Examining Managed Care The growing list of faculty with an interest in managed care research includes:

HEALTH CARE SYSTEM'S FUTURE?

Dr. Rooald Andelsen,

FACULTY CHART THE COURSE

w.

Fred and Pamela K. Wassennan Professor and Qlair of Health Senlices INTEREST: How health systems integrate ptTf.;k:ians into their organizations for the delivery of rnanagro care.

Dr. Roshan Baslani, Assislanl Professor of Health Senlices INTEREST: 1he effectiveness of atelephone counseling intervention for women with breast abnormalities in a rnanagro care setting.

Dr. LeslerBreslow, Professor Emerilus of Health Senlices tmREST: 1he relationship of rnanagro care and public health; development of a health risk assessment of the elderly in a rnanagro care environment.

Dr. E. Richard Brown, Professor of Comnllllity Health Sciences and Health Services; Director, UCl.A Cenler for Health Policy Research INTEREST: Managed care and public health; Medi-Oil rnanagro care and access to men1al health.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Professor of Health Senlices INTEREST: Lessons from the Ear1y Periodic Screening, Detection and Treatment program for Medicakl managed care; quality a55Urance for children and families in Medi-Oil nianagOO care contracts.

Dr. Gerald Kominski,

~ Professorol Health Services;~

Director, UCl.A Cenler for Health Policy Research INJEREST: Factors influencing utilization of men1al

health services in nianagOO care plans; effocls of integrating workers' compensation benefits into rnanagro care plans (24-llour coverage).

Dr. Mark Litwin, Assistant Professor of Health Senlices and Urology INTEREST: Asse$ing differences in resource utilization between primary care ptTf.;k:ians and specialists when treating patients hospitalized for urinary tract infection.

Dr. Glem Melnick, ~Professor of Health Senlices

INTEREST: 1he effocls of rnanagro care and prire com-

petition on hospital perfomlance measures.

Dr. Tilomas Rice, Professor of Health Senlices INTEREST: Research questions that can be addresstxl through natural experiments within asingle HMO. Dr. Stuart Schweilzer, Professor of Health Senlices INJEREST: 1he relationship between pharmaceutiral prices and quality; the FDA appl'Olfdl proces& Dr. Paul Torrens, Professor of Health Services; Director, M.P.H. for Health Professionals Program INTEREST: Medical group and physician network management and organization in rnanagro care.

Dr. Rob8l1a Wyn, ~Director for Research,

UCl.A Cenler for Health Policy Research INTEREST: Women's access to care, continuity of care,

and satisfaction with services in rnanagro care plans.

IN NEW BOOK

F

ollowing the Clinton administration's ill-fated effort to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation, the U.S. health care system faces an uncertain future with a seemingly impossible task - that of providing access to a broader population while controlling costs and ensuring quality.

The daunting work ahead weighed heavily on the mind of Samuel J. Tibbitts (B.S. '49, M.S.) prior to his death in 1994. Observes UCLA School of Public Health Dean Abdelmonem A. Afifi: "Even while entering the twilight of a long and storied career, Sam's concern for the future of health care remained."

Those words are part of Afifi's foreword to the new book, Changing the American Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services, Policy, and Management (San Francisco: JosseyBass Inc., Publishers), edited by three members of the school's faculty, with chapters contributed by more than a dozen others. The book was commissioned by a generous gift to the school's Department of Health Services by Tibbitts and his wife, Audrey.

"Sam came to us and expressed his interest in a book that would be useful to managers and policy-makers ," explains Dr. Ronald Andersen, the Fred W. and Pamela K. Wasserman Professor and Chair of Health Services and the book's first editor (other editors are Drs. Thomas Rice and Gerald Kominski). "I felt that for a book with such an ambitious mandate, we should draw on the many faculty in the school - not only in our department but elsewhere - who are some of the nation's leading experts in their field."

Chapters (each of which was peerreviewed) address the myriad issues surrounding access, quality, cost, and the special problems of particular vulnerable populations, as well as potential approaches to reforming the system. All

Audrey and Sam Tibbitts

of which fulfills the vision of Tibbitts, who founded and chaired both PacifiCare Health Systems, one of the first major health maintenance organizations; and American Health Care Systems, which organized the nation's first preferred provider system. ]ossey-Bass (phone: 4151433-1740; fax: 8001605-2665) offers substantial discounts on bulk quantities to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations.

New Face Dr. Susan D. Cochran Epidemiology

Earning Tenure 7/1/94 Dr. Gerald Kominski Health Services

7/1/95 Dr. Michael Collins Environmental Health Sciences

7/1/95 Dr. Steven Wallace Community Health Sciences

9 Major Gifts

Six-YEAR CAMPAIGN FOR

ESE

ENDOWMENT

REACHES A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION

Dr. Arthur Winer (I.), director of UCLA's Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) Program, based in the School of Public Health, accepts a capstone gift from Neal Pargman, president of the Save The Earth Foundation. The gift helped to complete the campaign for a $500,000 ESE endowment.

A

six-year campaign to create a $500,000 endowment in support of the interdepartmental Environmental Science and Engineering Program (based in the UCLA School of Public Health) has reached a successful conclusion.

The endowment will provide t he program's director with a s t eady source of funds to provide scholarships and other student support, p u rsue urgent research projects and otherwise enhance the quality of the program.

"These gifts will facilitate training the types of environmental scientists and engineers needed to address ou r increasingly complex environm ental problems," says Dr. Arthur Win er, professor of environmental health sciences and director of the program.

UCLA's Environmental Science and Engineering Program was founded in 1973 by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Willard Libby, who perceived a need to train environmental scientists, managers, and policy-makers in a more interdisciplinary manner than traditional Ph.D. programs afford.

The program provides trainin g in public health, a wide range of en gineering and science disciplines, u rban planning, public policy and en vironmental law. Graduates hold leadership

positions in government , industry and environmental organizations.

The endowment was seed ed by a $250 ,00 0 ch allen ge grant fro m the Willia m a nd F l ora H ewlett Fou n da tion , a n d was completed with gift s from the Save The E arth Foundation an d H u gh es E nvironmental System s.

Center for Health Policy Research Awarded Grants UCLA's Center fo r Health Po li cy Research, based in the School of Public Health, has received three major gifts.

One of two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants will fund the evaluation of a pilot project designed to reduce costs and improve medical care in California's workers' compensation system. The grant, the first to be awarded by the foundation as part of its national Worke rs' Compensation Health Initiative, will be used to conduct a threeyear evaluation of a state project that combines medical benefits for occupational and non-occupational injuries and illness (referred to as "24-hour coverage"). Dr. Gerald Kominski, associate professor of health services and associate director of the center, is the principal investigator.

A second grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is for "I mmigration, Health Insurance Coverage, and Access to Health Services, " a study focusing on the access of immigrants to health insurance coverage and to health services. The study, headed by Dr. E. Richard Brown, professor of community health sciences and health services and the center's director, will examine the effects of immigration, ethnicity, public policies, and other factors on two ethnic groups - persons of Latino and of AsianPacific Islander origin or ancestry- in the six states with the largest immigrant populations.

The Commonwealth Fund has provided ¡ funding for the development of three studies designed to enhance knowledge about women's health. Two of the projects examine the patterns of health-damaging and -promoting behaviors. The third will analyze women's experiences with managed care. Dr. Roberta Wyn, the Center for Health Policy Research's associate director, is leading the effort.

â&#x20AC;˘ Amgen Supports Seminar in Pharmaceutical Policy Amgen Inc. has awarded a major gift to support the continued work of the Seminar in Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy, cosponsored by the school's Department of Health Services and the Department of Economics in UCLA's College of Letters and Science. The seminar offers students and fac ulty the opportunity to hear experts throughout the United States present papers on new research in pharmaceutical policy.

(For information on the 1996-97 schedule of seminars, contact the school's Department of Health Services at 310/825-2594.)

10 lnternshi¡ps As the school continues to intensify efforts to give students practical experiences, field internships have become an integral part of the program. Two departments and a schoolwide office are actively involved in placing students in field sites. The internships serve as win-win propositions: Students gain valuable practical experience in the field (many parlay their internships into full-time positions after graduation) and organizlltions profit from the assets students bring to the job. Following are the people to contact if you are interested in teaming more about opportunities to provide internships, along with the names of some among the more than 4lXJ organizlltions that have recently participated: OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE Description: The new schoolwide program places students in year-long internships covering the full range of public health disciplines.

Contact: Kirstin Chickering, M.P.H. Title: Program Administrator Phone: (310) 794-7028 E-mail: chickering@admin.ph.ucla.edu DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES Description: Students are required to fulfill internships of 200 or 400 hours, depending on their concentration within the department. Students typically fulfill internships during the summer, though many also work part-time during the academic year, often beyond their required hours.

Contact: Mike Prelip, M.P.H., C.H.E.S. Title: Reid Studies Supervisor, Department of Community Health Sciences Phone: (310) 825-4506 E-mail: mprelip@ucla.edu DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES Description: Reid requirement is a 1Q-week, 40-hours-per-week summer internship, but many students also work part-time before or after the summer. Projects relate to various aspects of health services management or policy.

Contact: Diana Hilbennan, M.S.P., M.S.P.H. Title: Director of Field Studies, Department of Health Services Phone: (310) 206-6322 E-mail: hilberma@ucla.edu Participants Include: AIDS Project Los Angeles American Diabetes Association American Heart Association American Lung Association Bay Shores Medical Group/Healthcare Partners Blue Cross Galifomia Medical Center California Womens Committee on Alcohol and Drug Dependency CareAmerica Health Plans Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Foundation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention City and County of San Francisco City of Long Beach, Department of Health and Human Services City of Los Angeles/AIDS City Office Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles Childrens Hospital of Orange County Chinatown Services Center County Department of Health Services Culver City Youth Health Center Diversity Institute OKI International/Ethiopia Social Marketing Project Drew University of Medicine and Science Emergency Physicians Medical Group Ernst and Young, LLP, Consulting Rrm FHP Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Hoag Memorial IPA Holmes Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles Huntington Memorial Hospital and Medical Foundation Israeli Ministry of Health JonSS()n Comprehensive Ganeer Center/Cancer Control Juvenile Court Health Services Kaiser Permanente Long Beach VA Medical Center Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Los Angeles Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles Times March of Dimes Maxicare Medical Pathways Management Company Memorial IPA Medical Group - Long Beach National Taiwan University Hospital New Jersey Hospital Association Pace Healthcare Consulting Pacific Institute for Women Population Council Project YES - East Bay Conservation Corp.

Prototypes RAND San Francisco General Hospital Sant.a Monica-UCLA Hospital Medical Center Southeast Asian Health Project St. Joseph Healthcare System - Orange County St Jude Medical Center T:H.E Asian Health Project UCLA Medical Center UCLA School of Dentistry UNICEF UniHealth U.S. Gare U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Venice Family Clinic Ventura County Public Health Department West Los Angeles VA Medical Center Westside Childrens Center Westside Womens Health Center Women Against Gun Violence World Health Organization

UPDATES: Harvey D. Kern, B.S. '64, has retired from the position of director of public affairs, Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, after nearly 32 years of service. He is now the morning air personality and news/public affairs director for KNJO-FM in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Herbert J. Jacobus, M.S. '66, lives in Wayland, Mass., where he is retired but still active in town government and with the local Board of Health.

He is involved in work on smoking regulations and septic systems/packaged treatment plans.

Joan Barondess Friedenberg, B.S. '67, M.P.H., was appointed mental health director for San Diego County.

Rainer Beck, M.P.H., Dr.P.H. '70, retired in 1992 as Unocal's manager of industrial hygiene, and now owns and operates Harvelle's Blues Club in Santa Monica, Calif.

Stewart Blumenfeld, Dr.P.H. '73, C.P.H.Q., recently left his position at University Research Corporation (Bethesda, Md .), where he was deputy director of the quality assurance project, to become director of Las Vegas-based Healthcare Quality Systems, which provides training and technical consulting services in TOMiCOI for domestic and overseas health care organizations.

David Salceda, B.S. '74, is a supervising detective with the Santa Ana Police Department, specializing in community problem solving. He received an M.P.A. from USC in 1992.

Robert Kim-Farley, M.D., M.P.H. '75, is the World Health Organization Representative to Indonesia, responsible for developing and managing the organization's program of technical cooperation and coordinating its activities with the Indonesian government's national health program.

Merle Brodie, M.P.H. '76, C.F.R.E., has been named vice president of community philanthropy for the San Diego Community Foundation.

Peggy M. da Silva, B.S. '76, M.P.H., is director of a national training project for the Head Start Bureau in San Francisco, developing training materials and systems for staff across

the country. She would be happy to hear from any colleagues with expertise and experience in children's health (especially child care).

Koop's "Shape Up America!" coalition lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife Diana and their four children.

Nancy C. Wallis, M.S.P.H. '83, M.B.A., is vice president of operations for FHP/TakeCare in California.

William E. Smith, Pharm.D., M.P.H. '76, Ph.D. , completed his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences at Auburn University in 1994, then started an academic position at Northeastern University. His interests include the role of the pharmacist in public health and primary care.

Richard J. Enochs, M.P.H., Dr.P.H. '77, is professor and director of the undergraduate program in health care administration at the School of Allied Health Professions at Tennessee State University and Meharry Medical College. He received the Outstanding HBCU Research Fellow Award from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Injury Control Research Center in 1994, and was appointed interim director of the Master of Science in Public Health program at Meharry Medical College earlier this year.

Robert M. Lewis (Wicks), M.P.H. '86, is director of marketing and community services for Sierra View District Hospital in Porterville, Calif.

Rudolf L. Brutoco, M.D., M.P.H. '77, was recently appointed president of the Foundation for Health Enhancement, a nonprofit public charity that supports and promotes nutrition and fitness research and education - and recently established the Connelly Laboratory for Nutritional Sciences at UCLA. The former head of Life-Savers Foundation of America, founder of the World Marrow Donor Association and current member of C. Everett

Randy Farber, B.S. '81, is executive director of American Oncology Resources' Colorado Region, a national physician management company specializing in oncology with a network of 25 physicians at 10 sites in the three largest metropolitan areas of the state.

Dear Alumni, This fall, the UCLA School of Public H For the next issue of UCLA Public Health , we i following (deadlin e is August 15, 1996): ~-~

2. How did 1he school affect you.¡ life?

3. What is (are) the most sign"fic¡ t change ) ii since you entered the field?

Please check one: 0 Altached are answers to the above questions.

0 If you call or e-m ail me, I will be happy to discuss.

(To send answers by e-mail, see the address below.) i\ame _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Year of Graduatiou/Degree(s) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Position _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Tvpe of Work _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Home Phone (_ _ )_ _ _ _ _ _ Business( _ _ )_ _ _ _ __

E-mail _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Please send to: Editor, UCLA Public Health , Box 951772, Los Angeles , CA 90095-1772 (for 011-ca111p11s 111ail , Carnp rr s Code: 177220) or fax (3 10 ) 825-8440. You may a lso respo nd by e-mail at <a h613@1af'n.o rg> or use the return envelope attached to this newsleiter.

Kathryn D. Scott, M.P.H. '87, Dr.P.H. '94, is an associate scientist at the Alcohol Research Group in Berkeley, Calif. She and her husband, Deane DeFontes (a 1989 graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine), live in Santa Rosa, Calif., with their two children.

Deborah Rickerl Varner, M.P.H . '87, was recently promoted to director of health care delivery systems for Metro Health of Colorado.

John Wogec, M.P.H. '87, graduated from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in 1995 and is in the first year of a family practice residency program at Downey Community Hospital in Downey, Calif.

Chris Hafner-Eaton, M.P.H. '88, Ph.D. '92, had a second son, Tristen, in March 1995, and left Oregon State University to launch the consulting firm Health Improvement Services, Inc. She is also an adjunct faculty member and is coordinator of research and professional liaisQn for La Leche League.

Leslie Ziontz Shaffer, M.P.H. '88 , earned a Pharm.D. in May 1995.

Michael Manuel, M.P.H. '91, is a medical student at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Grace Dy, M.P.H. '92, M.D. , graduated from the UC Irvine College of Medicine th is spring and is scheduled to begin a residency program in emergency medicine at Detroit Medical Center.

Paula S. Williams, M.P.H. '94, is assistant to the director for the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health program, where she provides health and safety education on office ergonomics and edits a newsletter on workplace health and safety.

Serena Clayton, Ph.D. '95, accepted a position with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health as a planner and policy analyst for the Office of Maternal and Child Health, effective last November.

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Please let us know if yo u have a new address . Also, please jot down any professional or personal updates yo u'd like to see included in a future iss ue.

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Address Correction Requested

Spring 1996

MEIS CH ALLENGE

or the second consecutive year, alumnus Leste r A. Meis (B.S. '47) has offered a $5,000 "challenge" to encourage alumni to make annual gifts to the UCLA School of Public Health. Student callers have taken to the phones this spring, inviting alumni who have not supported the Deans Council in years past to do so now.

Results? Thus far, 20 percent Lester Meis of all the alumni reached by phone have responded with a pledge. At press time , more than $13,000 had been promised. These new gifts are expected to increase total contributions to the Dean s Council by one-third over las t yea r. Deans Council contributions, welcome in any amount , are particularly valuable to the school because they provide the dean with unrestricted funds that he can allocate to the schools g reatest needs and highest priorities.

Persons wishing to contribute to the Deans Council may do so through the envelope provided in this newsletter.

UCLA_f>_ CHU_B_LIC_H_EA__ LT_H__ NEWSLETT ER

UCLA School of Public Health â&#x20AC;˘ Box 951772 Los Angeles, California 90095-1772

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