MINNEAPOLIS, January 29, 2007 — The Medica Foundation in its second cycle of funding for 2006 made a $30,000 grant to Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota for its Pelican Rapids Somali Health Outreach program. The innovative program is designed to improve access to health care and provide health education for the local Somali population.
“The Medica Foundation recognizes the need to address health care disparities throughout Minnesota,” said Rob Longendyke, executive director. “We are pleased to be able to provide this much needed funding and look forward to working with our partners on making improvements to access for essential services in the Pelican Rapids area.”
In addition to the Somali Health Outreach project, the Medica Foundation provided funding for two other projects serving the area: $30,000 to the Minnesota Regions Assistive Technology Collaborative and $30,000 to the Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative. The technology collaborative ensures that people with chronic conditions, people with disabilities and their families and caregivers have the medical devices, adaptive/assistive equipment and related treatment necessary to lead healthy and productive lives. The childhood mental health initiative creates a strong network of local, regional and statewide services to support the healthy social and emotional development of Minnesota children ages 0-5.
In 2006, the Medica Foundation provided $1.5 million in funding for projects throughout the state, including several that address access to preventive and behavioral health services in rural 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###