When Funding Misses The Mark
/This profile of a terrific doctor and medical leader highlights what’s at stake when systems of funding and measurement prevent action on the most basic level. Dr. Donna Carey, formerly Chief Medical Officer of Highland Hospital, Oakland, tackled a startling health disparity in Alameda county, where infant mortality is four times higher among African-American babies than Caucasion ones. The Oakland Magazine article captures the conflict Dr. Carey faced at the core of her role: “She relished the position but soon learned that because state and federal funding depends on meeting metrics for immunizations and well-child visits, projects that better met the specific needs of her community had to be set aside, such as attacking the sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, issue in the county. ‘When you have this disparity and death of our infants, that to me is more important ... but I realize I work in a system,’ she said. ‘I felt I was not as nimble for our patients because of those restrictions. That work was recognized, but I got a lot of pushback, because it took time away from where we get our dollars from.’”