February 6, 2008
Kaiser Permanente Creates Endowed Chair for Health Disparities Research in Honor of Merwyn R. (Mitch) Greenlick
(PORTLAND, Ore.) – Kaiser Permanente Northwest announced today that it has donated
$1.5 million to Northwest Health Foundation to create the Merwyn R. (Mitch) Greenlick
Scientist for Health Disparities. The endowed position honors Dr. Greenlick, the
founding director of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research (CHR). Under
his leadership from 1964 to 1995, the CHR became a nationally renowned research
institution that played a key role in federal legislation to provide health care
to disadvantaged populations. A national search is now under way to find a first-rate
scientist trained in health disparities research to carry on this legacy. The scientist
who is hired will be located at the CHR in Portland, Oregon.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to have the Center for Health Research endowed
scientist position created and named for me,” says Dr. Greenlick. “This represents
the intersection of three things that have been central to my professional life – the Center for Health Research, health services research, and improving the health
care of disadvantaged members of society.” In addition to having led the Center
for Health Research for 31 years, Dr. Greenlick also served as chair of the department
of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine at OHSU from
1990 to 2000. He is currently serving his fourth term in the Oregon State Legislature,
representing District 33.
“I am very proud that Kaiser Permanente has chosen to use some of its community
benefit funds to endow this new position in health disparities research,” says Mary
L. Durham, PhD, vice president/research for Kaiser Permanente and director of the
Center for Health Research. “Finding ways to reduce health disparities is one of
the best things we can do to benefit the communities we serve. We know there are
significant differences among people in access to health care, in medical treatment,
and in health outcomes depending on their gender, race or ethnicity, and socioeconomic
status. What we need to discover are effective ways to reduce or eliminate these health disparities.”
“I am also extremely pleased that this new position honors Dr. Greenlick,” Durham
says. “I can think of no one who better deserves to have his lifetime work carried
on by new generations of researchers. In his long and illustrious career as a researcher,
leader of a health research institution, and head of the public health and preventive
medicine department at Oregon’s only medical school, he has been dedicated to closing
gaps in health disparities. Today, he is carrying on that same important work as
an elected official by sponsoring legislation to bring affordable and effective
health care to more Oregonians. We are confident we will find an eminent scientist
to fill the position that bears Mitch’s name and to move forward this very important
work.”
“Dr. Greenlick has been a public health leader in Oregon for decades and a personal
inspiration to me,” says Thomas Aschenbrener, president of the Northwest Health
Foundation. “Our community is deeply impacted by health disparities, so it makes
a good deal of sense for the Northwest Health Foundation to create an endowed research
position at the Center for Health Research. This is an important, new opportunity
to advance the public’s health. We are pleased to play a part in bringing new resources
and focus to Oregon.”
Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a non-profit
research institution whose mission is advancing knowledge to improve health.
Kaiser Permanente Northwest is a prepaid group practice health care organization
serving the medical needs of 475,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
The Northwest Health Foundation is an independent, charitable foundation working
to advance, support and promote the health of the people of Oregon and southwest
Washington. Since its founding in 1997, NWHF has awarded more than $40 million to
organizations serving the health needs of the region.
For more infomation contact:
Terry Fitzpatrick, (503) 335-6602, Terry.Fitzpatrick@kpchr.org or
Mary Sawyers,
(503) 813-3967, Mary.A.Sawyers@kp.org