July 2007 | Back to Table of Contents

MMA Viewpoint

MMA's Foundation Looks to the Future

One way that the MMA works to preserve the future of our profession is through the Minnesota Physicians Foundation. Historically, the Foundation’s major purpose was to provide loans to medical students, which directly helps to ensure the future of medicine.

Recently, through a series of focus groups and staff discussions, the MMA has been exploring ways to expand the Foundation’s vision and activities. One sign of the changes underway: At our July meeting, the Board of Trustees will consider a proposal to change its name to the Minnesota Medical Association Foundation.

There will be other changes as well. The Foundation will provide scholarships for medical students, our next generation of doctors, but will no longer provide loans, which are widely available elsewhere. And the Foundation has broadened its mission to include improving access to high-quality health care and the health of Minnesotans.

The Foundation supports the publication of the MMA Quality Review, which you found polybagged with this issue of Minnesota Medicine. Its purpose is to help you continuously improve the quality of care you give your patients and stay abreast of the quality-improvement efforts underway in Minnesota. To assess the value of this publication, we’ve included a survey so that you can let us know if you find it useful.

The Foundation has also provided support for the play The Power of the Pyramid and the educational materials that go with it that aim to help schoolchildren understand the importance of good nutrition and regular physical activity.

And this summer, the Foundation will launch a campaign to help underserved communities recruit or retain physicians. We’re planning to work with local communities, foundations, Minnesota’s medical schools, and other local and state programs to make sure there are enough physicians in underserved areas. We may also partner with the MMA Alliance to gain input on how best to retain physicians and their families.

The Foundation’s initial focus will be on helping rural areas in need of physicians; we hope to expand to urban areas at a later date. We’ll be working to keep our Minnesota-trained physicians as well as recruit physicians from other states.

This undertaking will require money, and we’ll be asking for your support. Certainly, you may choose to direct your gift to the medical student scholarship program. But we would also ask that you consider helping the broader Minnesota community recruit and retain physicians for underserved areas in our state. There are many communities that urgently need a physician and are actively looking for one. We will try to work with these communities to make sure all Minnesotans have access to the medical care they need.

I often encourage physicians to turn to their specialty society for their education and the MMA for their practice. Now, I’ll add the MMA Foundation—for our future.