Health policy institute names director

Dr. John Capitman

By Tom Uribes
University Relations

Dr. John Capitman, a Brandeis University professor and researcher who is nationally renowned for his work in health disparities, long-term care, substance abuse and racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care, has been named executive director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State.

The announcement was made by Dr.  Benjamin Cuellar, dean of the College of Health and Human Services and Sister Ruth Marie Nickerson, chief executive officer of Saint Agnes Medical Center and chair of the Regional Advisory Council.

Capitman, who is currently a professor in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University, will assume the position in January, 2005.    

The appointment follows a national search for the lead role in the Central Valley Health Policy Institute, funded by a five-year, $4-million grant from The California Endowment in July 2003.   

The Central Valley Health Policy Institute was established in 2002 to facilitate regional research, leadership and graduate education to address key health policy issues that influence the health status of people living in Central California.  

The Institute is housed in the Central California Center for Health and Human Services in the College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State.

“Dr. Capitman’s extensive research background, his strong history of interdisciplinary involvement and commitment to the community make him a great fit for the position. The executive director will provide on-going leadership in research and training programs to address the region’s most pressing health issues as well as providing a scholarly base for integration of Institute research and activities with university academic programs,” said Dr. Kathleen Curtis, director of the Central California Center for Health and Human Services. 

Capitman brings more than 20 years of experience in health policy research and analysis, including appointments at the Virginia Center on Aging, California Department of Health Services, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University and Brandeis University.   

Most recently, in his faculty appointment at Brandeis University, he has assumed an active teaching role, mentored dozens of doctoral students and young scholars and served as Co-Chair of the Social and Economic Inequalities Concentration.  

His research background includes a wide range of externally funded projects in health disparities, long-term care and substance abuse.   Among Capitman’s recent projects are a study of racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care and outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries and development of a technical assistance website on inclusion and diversity for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s community health partnerships.

At Fresno State, Capitman’s post also will include a faculty appointment to professor in the Department of Health Science where he will lead the development of a new option for graduate study in Health Policy in the existing Master of Public Health program.

Capitman said The Central Valley Health Policy Institute and new graduate study options at California State University, Fresno offer a chance to work collaboratively with health professionals and the communities they serve through the region.

“This region faces some of the toughest health promotion and health care challenges in the nation,” Capitman said. “The wealth of strengths, energy, and cooperative spirit from so many individuals and organizations in the region gives us all the chance to find new solutions to these challenges.” 

He noted that the Institute’s recently released report, Health in the Heartland: The Crisis Continues, documents that the Central Valley region faces some of the worst health problems in the state, including the highest rates of asthma, diabetes, motor vehicle deaths and teen births. 

“High rates of uninsured, limited access to health services and shortages of health care providers further complicate these issues,’ he said.

One of the first initiatives of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute will be a health policy leadership development program that will engage emerging leaders from throughout the region in exploring opportunities to address these regional health problems.

The recently funded Central Valley Health Policy Institute will assume a strategic role in the process of health policy and planning in the Central California region by bringing research evidence to those activities, providing leadership training and establishing a new option for graduate students at Fresno State to access advanced education in this area. 

More details are online at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute Web site at www.csufresno.edu/ccchhs/HPI.