MINNEAPOLIS, February 27, 2006 — The Medica Foundation today announced that it made grants totaling nearly $630,000 in its second funding cycle for 2005. The Foundation also announced its funding priorities for 2006.
Northstar Physicians Foundation received a $8,400 grant for its project, Providing the Missing Link: Rethinking the CMA/Nurse Role in Patient Care. The project, which will be implemented in northeastern Minnesota, will educate clinic staff on important care elements for patients with diabetes.
Another program receiving a grant from the Medica Foundation,
Leadie Eddie Mobile Lead Testing, will benefit northeastern Minnesota residents. The project, administered by the Sustainable Resources Center, provides blood lead screening throughout Greater Minnesota including Aitkin, Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis Counties.
“The Medica Foundation is pleased to provide these grants that benefit the residents of northeastern Minnesota”, said Rob Longendyke, executive director. “We’re especially interested in projects that involve our provider partners and other collaborative resources.”
Grantmaking by the Medica Foundation in the last half of 2005 focused on projects that benefit Greater Minnesota, address disparities in health care and healthy living.
The total amount of grants funded in each category was as follows:
| |
Amount funded |
| Health Care Disparities |
$248,010 |
| Greater Minnesota Health Care Initiatives |
$141,871 |
| Healthy Living |
$134,148 |
Programs for high risk/underserved populations/general
health improvement |
$103,201 |
2006 Funding PrioritiesThe Medica Foundation also announced its funding priorities for 2006.
First cycle funding priorities:
- Helping Seniors Live Independently: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $50,000 for projects that support seniors in maintaining their health, well-being, independence and quality of life through access to appropriate resources and systems.
- Behavioral Health: Filling the Gaps: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $75,000 for projects to develop capabilities or change processes related to behavioral health care service interventions, accessibility and sustainability for Minnesota Health Care Program (MCHP) enrollees served by Medica State Public Programs.
- Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $50,000 for projects designed to identify gaps in health care for diverse populations and to develop programming related to the identified racial and ethnic disparities for MCHP enrollees served by Medica State Public Programs.
Applications for the Cycle 1 funding priorities will be accepted from March 1, 2006 through April 28, 2006.
Second cycle funding priorities:
- Health Care Literacy: Turning Information Into Knowledge: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $30,000 for projects designed to equip individuals with access to the information they need to make informed decisions about their health care.
- Healthy Living: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $30,000 for projects designed to modify and enhance lifestyles to achieve maximal health status and quality of life. Priority will be given to programs that demonstrate behavior changes in lifestyle involving physical activity, nutrition and weight management.
- Addressing the Health Care Needs of Greater Minnesota: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $30,000 for projects outside of the seven-county metro area that establish collaborative relationships between organization and services with a focus on access to health care services, mental health and substance abuse, health care for seniors and/or teen health, or preventive care for MCHP enrollees served by Medica State Public Programs.
- Partnership for Prevention: Recipients may receive individual grants up to $75,000 for projects to improve utilization and quality of preventive care for MCHP enrollees served by Medica State Public Programs, including:
- Well-child screenings
- Asthma treatment and education
- Cancer screening
- Prenatal and postnatal care
- Diabetes screening, testing and education
- Screening for sexually transmitted diseases
Applications for the Cycle 2 funding priorities will be accepted from June 1, 2006 through July 28, 2006.
Application forms and instructions can be downloaded from the Medica Foundation section of www.medica.com. Interested organizations should review the eligibility criteria, program goals and application process before submitting a proposal.
Only 501(c)(3) organizations and government agencies are eligible to receive funding. To qualify for funding, organizations should operate within Medica’s service areas in Minnesota, western Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and northern Iowa. Applicants interested in funding to support MHCP enrollees must operate in Medica’s State Public Programs service area.
About the Medica Foundation:The Medica Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable grant-making foundation and a sister organization to Medica Health Plans, a Minnesota-based nonprofit HMO. The Foundation generally seeks to fund community-based programs and initiatives that can provide sustainable, measurable improvements in the availability, access and quality of healthcare. Email:
foundation@medica.com; Phone: 952/992-2060.
About Medica:Medica (www.medica.com) is Minnesota’s largest HMO, largest PPO and leading non-profit and independent provider of health plans. Medica has 1.3 million members and nearly 27,000 providers in a regional health care network service area that is available to 98 percent of Minnesotans and a growing number of adjoining counties in Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. Medica also offers national network coverage to employers who also have employees outside the Medica regional network. Medica has the highest accreditation, Excellent, from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA
®) for the commercial health plans it provides to Minnesotans and North Dakotans and for Medicaid HMO plans. Medica’s vision is to become the community’s health plan of choice, trusted for its integrity, respected for its service, and admired for its commitment to innovation and efficiency.
For more information, contact:Greg Bury
Senior Communications Manager
Office: 952-992-8437
Cell: 612-810-4556
E-mail:
greg.bury@medica.com##