RWJF Awards Molina Healthcare $150,000 Grant To Develop Program To Improve Access to Care for Latinos

Officials at Molina Healthcare of California yesterday announced that the company has received one of 10 $150,000 grants awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop a program to improve access to care for Latinos. Molina Healthcare will use the one-year grant -- part of the RWJF "Hablamos Juntos," or "We Speak Together," campaign -- to develop a program to improve communication between providers and patients who speak Spanish. The program will include interpreters, printed materials and signage. After one year, Molina could qualify for an additional two-year grant of as much as $850,000 to implement the program. "Latinos are the fastest growing population in California. Our patients tell us that language barriers present problems. We are responding by demonstrating how a health plan can remove those barriers by applying innovative approaches and consulting closely with community leaders," Martha Bernadett, vice president of Molina Medical Centers for Molina Healthcare and principal investigator of program, said (Molina Healthcare release, 10/23).