Blue Shield of California Foundation Announces $10.7 Million in Fourth-Quarter Funding

As healthcare reform nears, new grants will support innovative care delivery models and more integrated domestic violence services

San Francisco, CA (December 4, 2013) — Today, Blue Shield of California Foundation announced $10.7 million in fourth-quarter grantmaking. Many of the grants focus on new approaches to expand access to health care for low-income Californians and improve the systems that serve them. This funding comes at a critical juncture, as millions of Californians are expected to gain healthcare coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act beginning January 1, 2014.

“With healthcare coverage becoming a reality for millions of uninsured Californians, now is an incredibly important time to invest in new ideas and approaches that will help prepare our safety net for changes ahead,” said Peter Long, Ph.D., president and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation. “The grants made this quarter reflect our continued commitment to making the Affordable Care Act a success in California, and to creating the type of high-performing, affordable healthcare system we know we can achieve.”

The Foundation is also targeting funds to improve coordinated, statewide efforts to prevent and address domestic violence. This entails support for new partnerships and integration between the fields of health care and domestic violence. Starting next year, a new federal policy under the Affordable Care Act will require physicians to screen for domestic violence during women’s preventive health visits, which creates new incentives for health care and domestic violence service providers to collaborate.

These investments bring the Foundation’s total 2013 giving to $34 million.

A break-down of fourth-quarter grantmaking is as follows:

HEALTH CARE AND COVERAGE ($6,235,710)

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve and transform California’s healthcare safety net, the Foundation is investing $3,250,000 in the Tides Center to continue supporting the Center for Care Innovations to spur new ideas and approaches that make it easier for low-income Californians to access cost-effective health care.

In addition, the Foundation is releasing a series of grants to strengthen the capacity of California’s community health center consortia. This support will enable consortia to help community health centers measure and improve performance and develop better-integrated systems of care for newly eligible and remaining uninsured populations. Grantees include:

California Family Health Council, Inc. (Statewide; $150,000)
Central Valley Health Network, Inc. (Central; $100,000)
Council of Community Clinics (South; $150,000)
Health Alliance of Northern California (North; $110,000)
North Coast Clinics Network (North; $100,000)
Redwood Community Health Coalition (San Francisco Bay Area; $149,806)
San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium (San Francisco Bay Area; $125,000)
Alameda Health Consortium (San Francisco Bay Area; $150,000)
Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (Los Angeles; $82,364)
Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County, Inc. (Central; $200,000)

Additional grants for Health Care and Coverage:

California Pan Ethnic Health Network (Statewide; $100,000): To develop a First Responder Feedback Network to assess and report on statewide outreach and enrollment efforts targeting communities of color and Limited English Proficient consumers.
Insure the Uninsured Project (Statewide; $500,000): To advance California's implementation of healthcare reform by building consensus among key policymakers and stakeholders through an annual conference, regional and statewide working groups, original research, and educational workshops.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (Los Angeles; $215,000): To develop a comprehensive healthcare program and eligibility and enrollment system for individuals who will remain uninsured after implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
California Telehealth Network (Statewide; $300,000): To provide technical assistance, tools, and on-site training for telehealth implementations and integration efforts in 35 community health centers across the state.
Public Health Institute (Statewide; $253,540): To support the Center for Connected Health Policy to analyze how, and under what conditions, telehealth technologies can improve the quality of care while increasing efficiency and cost-savings for Federally Qualified Health Centers in California.
Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (Statewide; $150,000): To support the Center for Health Policy Research in its evaluation of the Delivery System Reform Incentive Pool program, which was implemented by 21 Designated Public Hospitals in California as part of the state’s Section 1115 Medicaid waiver.
Public Health Institute (Central California; $150,000): To support the development of a regional population health hub in the Central Valley that will advance the Triple Aim by better integrating public health and safety net healthcare providers.

BLUE SHIELD AGAINST VIOLENCE ($4,112,250)

The Foundation is releasing the following statewide grants to address and help prevent domestic violence in California:

California Department of Public Health (Statewide; $600,000): To advance a promising statewide effort to prevent teen dating violence in four new California communities.
The Center for Violence-Free Relationships (Statewide; $172,500): To create a regional data management network across three rural domestic violence agencies.

As part of the Foundation’s commitment to improve access to domestic violence services and integrate systems of care for survivors and their families, the Foundation is investing in a number of new collaborations and partnerships between domestic violence and healthcare safety net providers. These grantees are as follows:

East Lost Angeles Women's Center (Los Angeles; $210,000)
Jenesse Center, Inc. (Los Angeles; $210,000)
University Muslim Medical Association, Inc. (Los Angeles; $210,000)
YWCA of San Gabriel Valley (Los Angeles; $210,000)
Lake Family Resource Center (North; $210,000)
WEAVE, Inc. (Sacramento Valley; $210,000)
Community Solutions for Children, Families and Individuals (San Francisco Bay Area; $210,000)
North East Medical Services (San Francisco Bay Area; $210,000)
STAND! For Families Free of Violence (San Francisco Bay Area; $210,000)
Center for Community Solutions (South; $210,000)
Family Health Centers of San Diego (South; $210,000)

In addition, the Foundation is awarding the following grants to strengthen the cultural competence of California’s domestic violence safety net in order to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations:

Inter-Tribal Council of California, Inc. (Central; $153,750)
Interval House (Los Angeles; $103,750)
Korean American Family Services (Los Angeles; $205,000)
My Sister's House (Sacramento Valley; $157,250)
Mujeres Unidas Y Activas (San Francisco Bay Area; $205,000)
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (Statewide; $205,000)

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES ($376,291)

Outside of its traditional programmatic areas, the Foundation is also investing in a number of unique projects that aim to advance the Foundation’s mission and vision. These grants include:

Tides Center (Statewide; $150,000): To continue support for HealthyCal.org and its news and feature coverage of issues related to health reform implementation, safety net integration, domestic violence, and healthcare access options for low-income consumers in California.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (Statewide; $18,600): To support training for a California-based health journalist to become better acquainted with the evolving healthcare system in order to cover the critical health issues facing California.
Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management (Sacramento Valley; $97, 691): To implement the Sacramento Mental Health Action Plan as part of the National Dialogue on Mental Health.
Taproot Foundation (San Francisco Bay Area; $110,000): To strengthen the capacity of Foundation grantees through pro-bono service consulting.

In addition to this quarter’s grant investments, the Foundation also announced the addition of Eliza Daniely-Woolfolk and N. Marcus Thygeson, M.D. to its board of trustees. The appointment of these two leaders will help to ensure that the Foundation’s grantmaking continues to be applied to its highest and best use across California.

Ms. Daniely-Woolfolk is chief executive officer of Riverside County Coalition for Alternatives to Domestic Violence, an agency providing comprehensive social services to residents in greater Riverside County. She currently serves on Blue Shield of California Foundation’s domestic violence Advisory Group, as well as on the Statewide Council on Domestic Violence. She is also a board member of the Riverside Community Health Foundation and the Riverside Housing Development Corporation.

Dr. Thygeson is chief health officer for Blue Shield of California, where he leads the company’s healthcare services team. This team works to ensure that California’s healthcare system meets the needs of all stakeholders through medical and pharmacy management, population health, wellness, clinical quality improvement, and care-system transformation programs. Previously, Dr. Thygeson led the Center for Healthcare Innovation at Allina Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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. Blue Shield of California Foundation is an independent licensee of the Blue Shield Association.