Purpose Prize

Marc Freedman Portrait

The Latest from CoGenerate

Got a Digital Illustration that Shows Generations Working Together?

Got a Digital Illustration that Shows Generations Working Together?

CoGenerate recently teamed up with Fine Acts, a global creative studio for social impact, to launch an open call for illustrations showing generations working together for change.  We’re looking for illustrations that show older and younger people coming together to...

A New Conversation About Service That Crosses Generations

A New Conversation About Service That Crosses Generations

Can a single meal begin to bridge divides? Back in January, two major partners in CoGenerate’s work teamed up to find out. On the MLK Day of Service, Generations Over Dinner and AmeriCorps joined with senior living communities across the country to host more than 100...

*

Steven Galen

Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland
Purpose Prize Fellow 2010

Using his vast experience as a hospital administrator, Galen works to provide high-quality, equitable health care services for low-income, uninsured individuals.

Steven Galen’s motivation is clear: “People without access to health care frequently receive delayed, more costly and less effective care in hospital emergency rooms. They live sicker lives and die sooner than others.”

During his three decades as a hospital administrator at the National Institutes of Health, Galen built the know-how to attack the problem. In 2000, he retired from federal service and became president and CEO of the Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County (PCC) in Silver Spring, Md., after two years as the organization’s volunteer director.

The PCC was instrumental in developing – and continues to administer – Montgomery Cares, a public-private partnership with county government, 12 clinics, five hospitals, private health care practitioners, community-based organizations and foundations to serve more than 26,000 low-income residents.

The PCC establishes quality standards, coordinates technical assistance and provides infrastructure, including a shared electronic medical record system. Since 2005, under Galen’s leadership, the number of patients served has tripled and patient visits have more than doubled.

Similarly dramatic increases have occurred in mental health services, dental care and free medicine distribution. Meanwhile, Galen has expanded the PCC from two employees to 70, from a budget of $50,000 to one of $14 million.