COPIC Comment: COPIC Medical Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary

Friday, July 15, 2016 08:43 AM

by Ted J. Clarke, MD, Chairman & CEO, COPIC Insurance Company

Twenty-five years is a good amount of time, and when that time has been spent helping others improve health care, that is truly something to celebrate. This year, we are recognizing the accomplishments, milestones and people connected to the COPIC Medical Foundation. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that is part of the COPIC Family of Companies, and it supports health care in three major ways: grant funding, the annual COPIC Humanitarian Award and scholarships.

Background
The idea to create a foundation was championed by Harold “Hal” Williamson, COPIC’s first external non-physician board member. He was passionate about philanthropy and encouraged the COPIC Trust Board of Directors to consider giving back to the Colorado health care community in real and meaningful ways. In 1991, the creation of the COPIC Medical Foundation was approved by the Board. Sadly, Hal passed away in 2001, but his spirit lives on in what the Foundation has become over the years. Today, its efforts extend across both Colorado and Nebraska, and it has impacted the lives of many.

Grant funding
The Foundation is dedicated to supporting promising health care initiatives that focus on improving outcomes through:

• The education and training of health care professionals and health care teams
• Development, implementation or changes in health care-related systems, tools and processes
• Pilot programs designed to improve the delivery of medicine

Grant recipients represent a wide array of organizations and, in the last several years, grants have been presented to fund the following:

• Birthing simulators used for training at the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Center for Advancing Professional Excellence.
• The Healthy Living Initiative, overseen by the Colorado Pediatric Collaborative, which brings partners together to focus on a sustainable health management program.
• Research by the Colorado Hospital Association to evaluate compliance and the use of surgical site checklists.

Overall, the Foundation has provided $5.8 million in grant funding to more than 100 organizations since its inception.

COPIC Humanitarian Award
In 2001, the Foundation established an award in honor of Williamson. Each year, the COPIC Humanitarian Award recognizes a physician going above the scope of his or her practice to volunteer in the community. The award provides a $10,000 grant to be given to a health-related nonprofit of the recipient’s choice.

The COPIC Humanitarian Award has been awarded to more than 20 physicians and has provided more than $270,000 to nonprofits in Colorado and Nebraska. The accomplishments of these physicians range from helping establish urban clinics that care for underserved patients to tackling challenges in rural communities. Do you know of a physician who should be considered for this award? The Foundation is currently accepting nominations for the Colorado 2016 COPIC Humanitarian Award through August 31, 2016.

Scholarships
The Foundation provides scholarships to students in health-related areas of concentration. In Colorado, there are currently scholarship programs through the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Rocky Vista University and Regis University. The Foundation has provided more than $600,000 in student scholarships.

Studies show that medical providers who represent a specific culture are often able to communicate more effectively with patients from that culture, resulting in improved outcomes. Our COPIC Diversity Scholarship Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Vista University provides scholarships to Colorado residents who demonstrate a commitment to medicine and community involvement, and display the skills and tenacity needed to succeed in medicine.

Because managing health care in today’s environment is a team effort, the Foundation also provides scholarship funding for the graduate certificate program in Health Care Quality and Patient Safety at Regis University in Denver.

The COPIC Medical Foundation has become an integral part of COPIC and our mission to improve medicine in the communities we serve. We look forward to another 25 years of providing support and making a difference.