Robert Weech-Maldonado, PhD, MBA

Robert Weech-Maldonado, PhD, MBA, a Professor and L.R. Jordan Endowed Chair of Health Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, received a Doctorate of Philosophy from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Weech-Maldonado, a bi-lingual (Spanish/English) researcher, is interested in examining the impact of organizational and market factors on access, quality, and costs of care for vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly and racial/ethnic minorities.

Cohort

2003-04 & 2005-06

Projects

• 2005-2006 Pilot Project, “Racial/ethnic differences in nursing-home rehabilitation care for Medicare post-acute residents.” Dr. Weech-Maldonado’s RCMAR/CHIME-funded project examined the racial-ethnic differences in the case-mix adjusted utilization of speech, occupational, physical, and respiratory therapies for post-acute nursing home residents who had stroke. It was considered important to examine the stroke care and outcomes of care for racial/ethnic minorities admitted to nursing homes given that more rehabilitation services are being provided in nursing-home settings.
• 2003-2004 Pilot Project, “The relationship between Hispanic ethnicity and language and patient assessments of Medicare managed care.” Dr. Weech-Maldonado’s RCMAR/CHIME-funded project used the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) 3.0 data from 2002 to examine the experiences of Hispanics enrolled in Medicare managed care.