In Brief: Blue Shield Foundation Grants $10.7 Million; NHF Receives Money To Expand Homeless Project
Blue Shield Foundation Grants $10.7 Million For The Quarter
The Blue Shield of California Foundation has awarded $10.7 million in grants for the fourth quarter of 2013 to promote access to healthcare services and insurance coverage, and the prevention of domestic and other forms of violence.
A total of $6.24 million was allocated for healthcare access and coverage grants that were given to 17 organizations.
The largest of the grants, $500,000, went to the Insure the Uninsured Project to advance the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in California. The California Telehealth Network will receive $300,000 for the integration of telehealth services in more than 30 clinics statewide.
“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, the foundation's chief executive officer. “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.”
Among the anti-violence grants, the California Department of Public Health received $600,000 to continue to fund an initiative to prevent teen dating violence. The money would be used to expand it to four new cities.
Altogether, $4.1 million was allotted to 19 organizations.
The foundation also allocated more than $376,000 to fund four other projects outside of coverage expansion and violence prevention.
NHF Receives Grant To Expand Homeless Recuperation Project
The National Health Foundation has received a $250,000 grant from the Harold Edelstein Foundation toward the continuation of a project that provides recuperation services to homeless patients after they're discharged from the hospital.
The money completes the development of $1.24 million in funds to expand the program to the San Gabriel Valley region east of Los Angeles.
The project, which was officially launched in 2010, has served more than 2,000 homeless people in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas who have been discharged from some 60 hospitals. It provides temporary housing at vacant motels and some post-acute services for homeless people who have been discharged from area hospitals. They are typically referred by hospital social workers.
During their stays, a post-discharge plan is formulated and permanent housing sought for patients in order to make sure they do not wind up being readmitted to the hospital. An on-duty nurse monitors the discharged patient’s health during their stay, which averages about 10 days. Hospitals participating in the initiative pay for the patient’s post-discharge visits.
An NHF statement said the program has saved Southern California hospitals millions of dollars by avoiding readmissions.
