GEHA announces 11 full-tuition scholarships for Black and African American medical school students

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2022) — GEHA (Government Employees Health Association, Inc., pronounced G.E.H.A.) today announced the continuation of the Barbara Sheffield Medical Scholarship fund created in 2021 at KU Endowment to address the lack of diversity in the physician workforce by providing full-tuition scholarships for Black and African American students.

In addition to eight continuing scholarships from the 2020-2021 medical school year, the program will offer three new full-tuition scholarships as part of a grant made possible by GEHA subsidiary, GEHA Holdings, Inc.^® These current scholarship recipients attend the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

"Research has shown that racism, discrimination and unconscious bias continue to plague the U.S. health care system and cause unequal treatment for racial and ethnic minorities that drastically impacts health outcomes," said GEHA President & CEO Arthur A. Nizza, DSW. "GEHA is a company focused on delivering quality health coverage for our members; we believe it is vitally important to have more diversity in the medical field."

GEHA and its subsidiary GEHA Solutions have taken action to actively address the lack of diversity in the physician workforce by establishing the Barbara Sheffield Medical Scholarship. The scholarship's namesake, Barbara Sheffield, was the first female minority to serve on GEHA's Board of Directors.

Sheffield's character, determination and work ethic led her to a distinguished, barrier-breaking government career despite not fulfilling her desire to earn a college degree at the University of Kansas (KU). The cohorts of students honored with a Sheffield Scholarship were selected based on their work ethic, future goals, and commitment to helping further Barbara Sheffield's dream of ending unconscious bias, racism, and discrimination in the health care system.

The eight 2020-2021 inaugural Sheffield Scholars, consisting of seven men and one woman, will continue their educational journey at KU School of Medicine, while the three new scholars began medical school in July 2022.

"My fellow scholarship recipients and I are in a unique position to continue building upon the foundation Barbara Sheffield began by breaking down silos to show other Black or African American students that no goal is too lofty," said Benjamin W. Jones, a second-year medical school student. "One of my biggest hopes as a future physician and member of the Kansas City community is to inspire youth and incoming medical student cohorts to pursue science and reach for their dreams."

In addition to the scholarship's full tuition support, the program helps bridge the funding gap, which is a leading barrier for medical school students. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), in 2021 Black or African American applicants constituted only 11.7% of the U.S. medical school applicant pool compared with 49.7% of white applicants.

"We are extremely grateful to GEHA for its vision in supporting physicians of tomorrow," said Akinlolu Ojo, MD, Ph.D., MBA, Executive Dean of the KU School of Medicine. "Supporters of education like GEHA, and programs like this one, can truly make an impact on diversity in medicine."

Despite efforts by medical schools to increase diversity among applicants, the number of Black men pursuing medicine is especially low and has remained stagnant for nearly 40 years. Black males currently make up only 1.7% of the nearly 100,000 medical students in U.S. allopathic medical schools. In 1970, 1.3% of doctors were Black males, compared to 1.4% in 2019.

"Racial and ethnic concordance between patient and physician is a critical component of patients getting the care they need from a provider they trust. The GEHA family of companies is proud to support efforts to diversify the field of medicine by investing in the pipeline of diverse physicians who will serve our members and their communities," said Nizza.

ABOUT BARBARA SHEFFIELD
Barbara Sheffield was a GEHA Board of Directors member from 2002 until her retirement from the Board in 2019. She began her career with the federal government at the Veterans Administration in 1963 and later transferred to GSA where she served as Congressional Liaison and FEMA Coordinator. Ms. Sheffield was born in 1941 on a plantation in Arkansas. She grew up in a small town near Lawrence, Kansas, and dreamed of attending KU. Despite not fulfilling her desire to earn a college degree, Ms. Sheffield went on to have a distinguished, barrier-breaking government career due to her character, determination and work ethic. As a result of her accomplishments with the Government, Ms. Sheffield was selected as the first minority and female to serve on the GEHA Board of Directors. She currently resides in Kansas and is enjoying retirement.

ABOUT GEHA
GEHA (Government Employees Health Association, Inc., pronounced G.E.H.A.) is a nonprofit member association that provides medical and dental benefits to more than 2 million federal employees and retirees, military retirees and their families. Offering one of the largest medical and dental benefit provider networks in America, GEHA empowers health and wellness by meeting its members where they are, when they need care.

Headquartered in Lee's Summit, Missouri, with approximately 1,600 employees, GEHA is a $4.8 billion company that is committed to its members and their communities.

GEHA has gained distinctive civic recognition by being named the 2022 Corporate Partner of the Year for the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the 2022 Nonprofit Champion of Diversity for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the 2022 Truly the Best Business of the Year for Lee's Summit (Missouri) Chamber of Commerce.

Since 2021, GEHA has held exclusive naming rights to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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ABOUT GEHA SOLUTIONS
In 1997, GEHA Solutions went to market with GEHA's Connection Dental Network as a solution to lower claims costs for dental payers. Today, GEHA Solutions also offers multi-network options for lease, branded as CDFLEX, as well as a Medicare Advantage specific network option.

The GEHA Solutions team utilizes and shares more than 100 years of industry expertise to provide products, industry advice, news and tools to help clients retain and grow business.

CONTACT
Lisa Ketteler (GEHA) | 816.434.2508