Blue Shield of California Foundation Announces $6.4 Million in Fourth-Quarter Funding

New investments support innovation among California’s healthcare safety net and domestic violence service providers 

San Francisco, CA (December 12, 2012) — Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) announced today $6.4 million in fourth-quarter grantmaking. The majority of these funds will support cutting-edge strategies for strengthening, integrating, and advancing California’s healthcare safety net. Investments will also support innovative projects and partnerships within the field of domestic violence. These funds bring BSCF’s total 2012 grantmaking to more than $30 million.

“New care delivery models and technologies will play an important role in helping safety net providers use their resources more efficiently to serve the individuals and families who will gain coverage in 2014,” said Peter V. Long, Ph.D., president and CEO of BSCF. “Through these strategic grants, we’re working to support the development of an integrated, high-performing healthcare system for California’s underserved.”

With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act just one year away, community health centers and domestic violence service providers face more pressure than ever to transform the way that they do business and deliver care.  In response, safety net stakeholders across the state are stepping up their efforts to develop more sophisticated and coordinated systems that increase access, improve quality and performance, and effectively reach those most in need. 

The Foundation supports this work through the following grants:

HEALTH CARE AND COVERAGE ($4,570,873):
The following grants are designed to strengthen the state’s health care safety net to ensure that all Californians have access to high-quality, effective, and affordable health care:

Safety Net Integration ($2,857,873): The strategies for this group of grants include: integration of behavioral health and primary care; strengthening hospital to primary care transitions; building health information exchange capabilities across safety net providers; and improving specialty care access for low-income populations in California. Funds will support the following organizations:

  • AIDS Emergency Fund (San Francisco County)
  • California Telehealth Network (San Bernardino County)
  • Community Health Center Network (Alameda County) 
  • Golden Valley Health Centers (Merced County)
  • Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County, Inc. (Santa Cruz County)
  • Health Plan of San Joaquin (San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties)
  • Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (Los Angeles County)
  • Monterey County Health Department (Monterey County)
  • Nevada County Health and Human Services Agency (Nevada County)
  • San Diegans for Healthcare Coverage (San Diego County)
  • San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium (San Francisco County)
  • Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System (Santa Clara County)
  • Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency (Santa Cruz County)
  • Southside Coalition of Community Health Centers (Los Angeles County)
  • Local Initiative of Los Angeles County (Los Angeles County)

Data Capacity for Community Health Center Consortia ($1,065,000):
This group of grants is focused on enabling California’s community health center consortia to: build their data capacity; effectively utilize electronic tools for data collection, reporting, analysis, and exchange; and leverage data to measure clinical, financial, and operational performance. Funds will support the following organizations:

  • Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (Los Angeles County)
  • Council of Community Clinics (San Diego, Imperial, and Riverside Counties.)
  • North Coast Clinics Network (Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte Counties) 
  • Central Valley Health Network (Northern Central Valley and Inland Empire)
  • Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers (Orange County)
  • Community Health Partnership (Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties)
  • Redwood Community Health Coalition (Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Yolo Counties)
  • California Family Health Council (Statewide)
  • Community Clinic Consortium (Contra Costa and Solano Counties)
  • Community Health Center Network (Alameda County)

Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Cambridge, MA; $223,000): To provide technical assistance and training for California community health center consortia and their members on the use of data to improve clinical, operational, and financial performance. 

Shasta Community Health Center (Redding, CA; $75,000): To establish a Teaching Health Center program to increase the number of safety net physicians trained in team-based and patient-centered care in Shasta County.

National Health Law Program (Los Angeles, CA; $200,000): To support research, analysis, and collaboration among county and state policymakers in California to ensure an effective transition from Low Income Health Programs to Medi-Cal in 2014.

Tides Center (San Francisco, CA; $150,000): To support HealthyCal.org in producing news and feature coverage on key issues related to health reform, safety net integration, domestic violence, and healthcare access options for low-income populations in California.

BLUE SHIELD AGAINST VIOLENCE ($1,910,771) 
The following grants are aimed at supporting leadership, innovation, partnerships, and shared learning in the domestic violence (DV) field, as well as building a stronger, more effective, coordinated network of DV service providers in California. 

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services (San Francisco, CA; $1,200,000): To support training and leadership development for DV leaders across California, with the ultimate goal of building a critical mass of leaders equipped with the skills and networks needed to lead forward a stronger field.

Nonprofit Finance Fund (San Francisco, CA; $250,000): To strengthen financial management and leadership within DV organizations across California through customized technical assistance, clinics, and peer-learning.

California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (Sacramento, CA; $110,771): To explore strategies for California’s domestic violence and sexual assault programs to work more collaboratively to end violence. 

Alameda County Family Justice Center (Oakland, CA; $200,000): To enable a coordinated response to domestic violence among law enforcement and healthcare providers in Alameda County using a web-based tool designed to improve DV reporting and emergency department referrals.

The Aspen Institute (Washington, DC; $150,000): To convene a national summit on military family well-being and to promote a curriculum for frontline health workers on treating combat-related post-traumatic stress and preventing domestic violence.

ABOUT BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION
Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state’s largest and most trusted grantmaking organizations. Our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians, particularly the underserved, by making health care accessible, effective, and affordable, and by ending domestic violence. For more information visit: www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.

The Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.4 million members, 4,800 employees, and 20 offices throughout California. Visit: www.blueshieldca.com.

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