The quiet floor of the Social Sciences Building that is home to UMBC's Center for Health Program Development and Management (CHPDM) is an unassuming location for research that affects the healthcare of many poor and disabled Marylanders. But as they prepare to celebrate their tenth anniversary at UMBC, the expert researchers at CHPDM continue to impact healthcare policy at all levels of government.

Founded in 1994 as a partnership with Maryland Medicaid, CHPDM provides non-partisan healthcare analysis to county, state and federal agencies, as well as to private foundations. The Center's research, supported entirely by client grants and contracts, allows them to provide objective information about people's healthcare. Consequently, the results of CHPDM's research enable policymakers to make informed decisions about programs such as Medicaid, mental health and AIDS. Their work also directly affects policy decisions and determines certain institutional standards, such as the rates for HealthChoice, Maryland's statewide mandatory managed care program, which oversees the contracting of Medicaid providers.

"Our ultimate mission is to ensure better care for patients,? says Charles Milligan, executive director of CHPDM. "This [center's work] is an ongoing expression of a personal message; namely that the faculty and staff here are truly dedicated to the well-being of the community within which we live and work.?

Among CHPDM's biggest achievements of the decade are contributing to the design and implementation of HealthChoice, the development of healthcare policies to streamline access to community-based services for seniors, ongoing evaluation of the quality of HMO's and the transformation to a managed care system from a previously fragmented fee-for-service system. In addition, the Center has worked to secure children's health insurance for the working poor, maintained a relationship with the AIDS Administration, collaborated with the Maryland Department of Aging in assessing the needs of the elderly and created a STD awareness program for women in Carroll County.

Owing to CHPDM's unique relationship with UMBC, their presence on campus "gives support to the public health and social service system through an independent non-partisan research organization,? explains Milligan. Also of note is the Center's ongoing academic partnership with students and faculty interested in healthcare policy issues, which includes making their extensive database systems available to certain Ph.D. students. "We enjoy being citizens of UMBC and working with the students,? says Milligan.

And the students enjoy working at the Center, too. There are currently four graduate students as well as three undergraduates working at CHPDM (there are also eight UMBC alumni). Amanda Otis ('03), a graduate student in economic policy analysis says, "Working at CHPDM has been a good opportunity for me to learn about how healthcare issues have such a huge effect on so many areas in government policy.? Another graduate student in economic policy analysis, Anna Perfilyeva, recognizes the Center's contribution to the improvement of quality health care: "CHPDM works with other agencies and institutions to develop programs that share this common goal and allows individuals like me to be part of the changing process.?

So what's on the horizon for CHPDM in the next 10 years? According to Milligan, ongoing dedication to long-term care that will adapt to the needs of the aging population, as well as an anticipated diversification of the kind of work the Center deals in, especially mental health. The number of faculty and staff, currently at 45, will grow to 49 in 2005, an indication of the Center's continuing growth.

Revealing CHPDM's conscientious approach to the services they provide, Milligan affirms, "We consider ourselves to be part of the fabric of the State.? UMBC recognizes CHPDM's continuing achievements and is fortunate to consider the Center as part of the fabric of the University.

The UMBC community is invited to join CHPDM for its 10th anniversary celebration on Thursday, October 28 with a presentation and discussion led by Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy of State Health Policy on "Translating Health Services and Policy Research into Action?. The presentation begins at 1:45 p.m. in the University Center, Room 312.

For more information on CHPDM, visit www.umbc.edu/chpdm.

-Steffany Magid