Report recommends that Washington, D.C., spend $90 million on health care services in underserved areas

Washington, D.C., should spend $90 million of the funds it received from the 1998 tobacco settlement to expand services provided by community health centers in the district's underserved areas, according to a RAND report released on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.

The district received a total of $245 million as its share of a national settlement between tobacco companies and states. Local officials asked RAND to study areas in the district where health care was lacking and make recommendations on how to spend $135 million of the settlement.

The report also recommended spending $24 million on improving electronic health record systems and reserving $7.5 million for mental and oral health issues, as well as numerous smaller projects. In addition, the report recommended improving overall care including "licensure of physicians, cultural sensitivity and bedside manner."

The report found that in the district, the "issue of wait times is particularly troubling for parents seeking care for children as these prolonged times in non child friendly waiting rooms are difficult to manage." In addition, many residents experienced poor people skills among the medical staff, including physicians, according to the report. These problems often result in residents seeking care at emergency departments, the report states.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mayor Adrian Fenty said, "We will be reviewing these findings with internal experts as well as stakeholders in the community to develop a plan for investing these funds through grants and other partnerships." D.C. Council member David Catania (I), chair of the council's Committee on Health, at the press conference said, "This will be the largest investment of capital in health care in the history of this city" (Stewart, Washington Post, 6/27).

The report is available online (.pdf).