01-05-2025
CareFirst gifts $6.2M to support Coppin State medical program
Coppin State University announced Wednesday that it received a $6.22 million investment from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to expand its health services and education.
The investment, the largest philanthropic gift Coppin State has ever received, is aimed at renovating and expanding the university's health center, as well as building up its healthcare education and scholarship programs.
One of these programs, the Carefirst scholarship program, will help train medical students through hands-on experience at Coppin State's health center.
'Our partnership with Coppin State responds to a critical need for a well-trained pool of healthcare professionals and greater access to quality care while strengthening a hub for transformative solutions,' said CareFirst president and CEO Brian D. Pieninck, in a news release.
Pieninck noted that historically Black colleges and universities, like Coppin, 'receive 178 times less funding than Ivy League institutions, despite being engines of growth and innovation for communities of color.'
'This investment is about more than expanding services — it's about shifting the trajectory of our communities by improving opportunity and access,' he said in the release.
Coppin State President Anthony L. Jenkins said the funding will help create jobs, build skills and improve health in the community, noting the two organizations' work on CareFirst's West Baltimore Workforce Development Program.
'This partnership is something special and an investment that will have a lasting impact on our students and the west side of Baltimore,' Jenkins said in the release.
Have a news tip? Contact Mathew Schumer at mschumer@ 443-890-7423 and on X as @mmmschumer.
