B. Future Direction - Results of the Regional Breakout Sessions

Conclusions and Next Steps:

Summit participants strongly endorsed the continued development of the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations and the role of the CMA Foundation as the temporary incubator of the new organization. This support and the information generated by the breakout sessions will provide a basis for future Network development tasks conducted by the CMA Foundation and the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations. With the new EPO project director on staff and funding secured, the CMA Foundation is positioned to support the Network in its next stages of development. The next steps in this process include:

• Using the information generated in the Summit to conduct a new series of interviews with leaders of Ethnic Physician Organizations across California. These interviews will help to refine plans for technical assistance, support for policy advocacy, further development of the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations, and continuing education programs.
• Implementation of a mini-grant (regranting) program to make funds available to EPOs for organizational development, policy advocacy, and development of community collaboratives.
• Increased formalization of the organizational structure of the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations.

In addition, the priorities identified by the EPO leaders at the Summit will inform the development of other CMA Foundation projects, including a new initiative on diabetes to be launched in the near future with a significant role planned for Ethnic Physician Organizations.