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The MolinaCares Accord, UCLA and California Health Care Foundation Announce Health Equity Challenge Winners

06/22/2023

Program Grants $200,000 for UCLA Grad Students to Develop Health Equity Solutions
 
LOS ANGELES – June 22, 2023 – The MolinaCares Accord (“MolinaCares”), UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) and the California Health Care Foundation, recently announced four grand prize winners of the 2023 Health Equity Challenge, a program designed to engage UCLA graduate students in developing solutions to California’s most pressing health equity concerns. The Health Equity Challenge was launched in 2022 as part of the $1.6 million MolinaCares California Equity and Accessibility Initiative.

“MolinaCares is thrilled to support the second cohort of graduate students in developing innovative solutions that can make a real impact on addressing health disparities and improving the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in California,” said Abbie Totten, plan president of Molina Healthcare of California. “We thank CHCF for their partnership, which made it possible for us to expand and double the impact of this program.” 

Under the Health Equity Challenge, a group of graduate students at UCLA were tasked with developing local, community-based solutions to address existing health equity-related issues of their choosing. 14 finalists were selected to receive a stipend and paired with a mentor to develop their proposals into real-world interventions. An independent review panel of health care experts then reviewed each of the innovations and selected the following four grand prize winners: 

  • Karla Murillo and community partner, the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, will develop a mobile health screening model to support vision care for day laborers in underserved communities.
  • Cameron Salehi and community partner, United American Indian Involvement Inc., will develop training and education programs to address climate-related health risks for community health workers.
  • Nikolas Wianecki and community partner, the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center, will implement heat preparedness and response training for caregivers of older adults to reduce the impact of extreme heat conditions.
  • Nadeeka Karunaratne and community partner, the South Asian Network, will develop programs and services to promote healing for survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence.

Each of the above community organizations will receive an implementation grant of $50,000 to implement the awarded innovation.

For more on the Health Equity Challenge and the 14 finalists, please visit https://healthequitychallenge.com/blog. 

About The MolinaCares Accord:
Established by Molina Healthcare, Inc., The MolinaCares Accord oversees a community investment platform created to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged populations by funding meaningful, measurable, and innovative programs and solutions that improve health, life, and living in local communities. The MolinaCares Accord funds such measures through The Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in 2020 by Molina Healthcare, Inc.  

About Molina Healthcare of California: 
Molina Healthcare of California has been providing government-funded care for over 40 years. The Company serves members through Medi-Cal, Medicare, Medicare-Medicaid (Duals) and Covered California (Marketplace). Molina’s service areas include Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Orange County, and Imperial counties. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company, served approximately 5.3 million members as of September 30, 2023. For more information about Molina Healthcare of California, visit MolinaHealthcare.com.