Medica Foundation 2006 Second Cycle Grants
MINNEAPOLIS, January 29, 2007 — The Medica Foundation in its second cycle of funding for 2006 made grants of $382,982 for projects and programs by provider groups and initiatives that support their work. The activities range from efforts to improve prevention and preventive services, healthy living and health literacy to general health improvement initiatives.
“The Medica Foundation has placed an emphasis on projects that help educate Minnesotans about maintaining their health and those that improve access to preventive care. We recognize that initiatives like these are fundamental to better health and lower costs for everyone,” said Rob Longendyke, executive director. “We are delighted to partner with Minnesota’s providers on these projects.
The projects include:
- Allina Medical Clinic, $5,000, for its Medical Clinic Prescription Assistance Program, which provides support for low income, uninsured and underinsured patients to access prescription assistance programs.
- Carlton County Public Health and Human Services, $74,653, for its Prenatal, Postpartum, Well-baby Mental Health Program, which provides home visits for at-risk new mothers and babies to foster secure attachment between mother and baby, help mothers overcome postpartum depression and encourage parenting that optimizes healthy physical, social and emotional development of children.
- CentraCare Health Foundation, $30,000, for its Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in Western Stearns and Todd Counties. The grant will help expand the services of the Senior Helping Hands/Elder Network outreach program to hospitals in Melrose, Sauk Centre and Long Prairie. The program provides mental health counseling to older adults.
- Community Dental Care, $40,000, for its Expectant Mothers and Children Oral Health Care Outreach and Education project. It provides prenatal outreach and preventive oral care and education to expectant mothers and young children living in high-risk populations in East St. Paul.
- Courage Center, $30,000, for its Wellness and Fitness Program Research Initiative, which will test the effectiveness of a fitness program for adults with physical disabilities by measuring improved function, quality of life and medial utilization costs. The program will serve residents of Wright County.
- Dakota County Public Health Department, $66,794, for a project designed to increase Chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infectious diseases at health clinics in Dakota County.
- Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, $30,000, for its Health Literacy and Medication Knowledge in Native Spanish-speaking Patients program. The program will assess the cost effectiveness of using the “teach-back” method in the Hennepin County Medical Center pharmacy to improve the understanding of medication instructions.
- Minnesota Physicians’ Foundation of the Minnesota Medical Association, $30,000, for The Power of the Pyramid. This project will develop a year-long pilot program for the Duluth metro area that focuses on teaching children in schools and their families the four basic tools for living a healthy lifestyle.
- Minnesota Consortium for Advance Rural Psychology Training program (Becker County), $30,000. The program supports training, development and retention of mental health resident psychologists practicing in rural Minnesota communities. The Becker community has been identified as a community of focus for 2007.
- Roseau Area Hospital and Homes, Inc., $11,535, for its Eat Well and Keep Moving project, an interdisciplinary nutrition and physical activity curriculum aimed at building lifelong healthy habits for all fifth grade students in the region.
- Sustainable Resources Center, $35,000, Leadie Eddie Mobile Lead Testing project that provides a mobile blood lead screening program in counties throughout Minnesota.
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 more than 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###