Kaiser approves $22M in community benefit grants for care and coverage

Kaiser Permanente has approved more than 415 community benefit grants and donations totaling approximately $22 million during the second quarter of 2008. Funding will support community programs to encourage better health and improve care and insurance coverage.

"Kaiser Permanente has a long history of funding programs that extend good health practices beyond the doctor's office and into the community," said Raymond J. Baxter, senior vice president of community benefit, research and health policy. "We are extremely pleased to contribute to programs nationwide that include collaborative efforts to provide quality care, support programs that improve community health and bolster our commitment to our nonprofit partners."

Grants include:

• $150,000 over two years to Maternal and Child Health Access, an agency that works to improve the health of Los Angeles County's low-income women and families through advocacy, education, training and direct services.

• $100,000 over the next two years to the Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County to establish a medical legal community partnership. The partnership will focus on issues of housing, environmental health, immigration, access to public benefits, domestic violence prevention and healthcare rights.

• $750,000 over the next two years to the "Tools for Quality" Program for Safety Net community clinics and health centers. This funding will enable the clinics and health centers to adopt technology to improve chronic disease care. The Safety Net serves California's uninsured and low-income populations who often live in underserved communities that are especially vulnerable to health disparities.

• $750,000 over two years to a study by the Institute of Medicine titled "Evidence Framework for Obesity Prevention: Integrating Action and Evidence." The study will establish appropriate scientific criteria for assessing the evidence base for community- and policy-level obesity prevention efforts and develop practical recommendations to make evidence-informed decisions.

• $220,000 to the California Medical Association Foundation for the "Physicians for Healthy Communities-Obesity Prevention Project" to develop a Web-based registry that will connect physicians to local organizations engaged in obesity prevention activities.

• and $300,000 to the California Task Force on Youth & Workplace Wellness to support programs such as the development of the "California Fit Business Award" recognizing workplace wellness programs; the "School Wellness Challenge" to assist schools in developing and implementing their school wellness policies, and legislative luncheons to educate state legislators and the public about various healthy eating, active living topics such as food stamps, menu labeling and access to water in schools.

Has your community benefited from any of these grants? Send comments to Associate Editor Chelsey Ledue at chelsey.ledue@medtechpublishing.com.