Health Forward Awards $4.7 Million in Mental Health Grants

Date: December 12, 2012
Contact: Jennifer Sykes
Phone: 816-241-7006
Grants Support Services Ranging from Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases to Oral Health
KANSAS CITY, MO –The Health Forward Foundation (Health Forward) has awarded 39 non-profit organizations a total of $4.7 million in safety net grants. Many of the grants awarded address care and management of chronic disease, preventive care, care coordination, domestic violence, cultural competency and oral health.

“Health Forward is pleased to award these organizations with grants to help improve access to oral health and health care, preventive care and supportive services for the uninsured and underserved,” said Steve Roling, President/CEO of the Health Forward Foundation. “Having access to quality health and health care is a right that every resident of our service area deserves and these agencies work hard every day to provide those services.”

Health Forward released its mental health request for proposals in June. The Foundation received a total of 93 proposals totaling $18.2 million in requests. The following grants were selected by a team of external reviewers from outside the Health Forward service area and awarded at the December Health Forward Board of Directors meeting.

Agency Amount Awarded Project Description
Baptist-Trinity Lutheran Legacy Foundation $117,505 To improve access to emergency health care services, including durable goods, improving access to care, prescription assistance
Black Health Care Coalition, Inc. $81,000 To support a Registered Nurse position that will provide health care services to the uninsured
Cancer Action, Inc. $80,000 To provide vital services and support to help uninsured and underserved cancer patients in the greater Kansas City area
Duchesne Clinic $150,000 To support clinical capacity to provide quality bilingual primary medical care, including chronic disease management, preventive care and medication assistance
Child Abuse Prevention Association $97,649 To support staff that will provide trauma-focused mental health services; prevention-focused, in-home case management; crisis assistance; and bilingual services to underserved, under/uninsured, high-risk populations in Jackson County
Child Protection Center, Inc. $55,709 To strengthen organizational capacity to ensure that highly vulnerable victims of child sexual or physical abuse living in Jackson, Cass and Lafayette counties in Missouri are properly identified, that their safety is secured and that their access to health care services is improved by providing referrals for medical and mental health treatments as soon as possible after a report of abuse. This grant will fund the salary for one highly educated and experienced forensic interviewer for one year.
Communities Creating Opportunity Organization $140,000 To organize faith communities as community health leaders, mobilize advocates for Medicaid Expansion and the Health Insurance Exchange, and collaborate with community partners to reduce emergency room usage for primary care visits
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Inc. $95,000 To fund 44 percent of the cost of a full-time dentist and full-time hygienist to provide emergency, preventative and restorative dental care to the uninsured and underserved of Allen County
Cornerstones of Care $232,000 To provide nurse case management to foster youth in Cass County and to provide Psychotropic Medication Review and Consultation to foster youth in both Cass and Jackson Counties
The Foundation for Shawnee Mission Medical Center $80,000 Support of a patient-centered program of case management and other direct support to provide individualized, step-by-step assistance to help frequent users of the emergency department overcome barriers to care, establish a medical home and experience better health
Harvesters – The Community Food Network $150,000 To support Harvesters’ emergency food distribution programs
Hope Network Of Raytown $15,500 To support salaries for a part-time dental assistant, a receptionist, dental supplies and lab fees to assist the medically indigent with their critical dental needs
Jewish Vocational Service $55,000 To fund the JVS Refugee Medical Coordinator, a nurse educator and interpreter services that address the need for a coordinated system of care for new refugees
Kansas City Free Health Clinic $300,460 To support adult general medicine and oral health services for uninsured and low-income adults
Kansas City Quality Improvement Consortium, Inc.
Asthma Ready Program
Health Metrics Systems
NKC School District
Center School District
Hickman Mills $225,000 To support technology, education and coach team to increase the appropriate care and self-management for Children who receive Medicaid
Kansas University Endowment Association $56,486 To support the operation of a nonprofit, student-run, free clinic in Wyandotte County that provides health care services for the uninsured, under-insured and undocumented populations of Kansas City; and to support a paralegal/interpreter position (.5 FTE) that will provide administrative and interpretative support for free legal services to diverse patient populations, especially those who speak English as a second language, in order to improve health outcomes
Kansas University Endowment Association $100,000 To support ongoing operations of Silver City Health Center, particularly salaries for staff who provide health care services to the under- and uninsured
Legal Aid of Western Missouri $100,000 To support the Medical Legal Partnership, which provides legal advocacy and representation to address social determinants of health that disproportionately affect low-income, uninsured patients and families
Mattie Rhodes Center
Synergy $170,000 To support therapy, service coordination, and legal assistance for our Latino family domestic violence program serving uninsured, low-income, predominantly Latino individuals
Mid-America Regional Council Community Services Corporation
Kansas City Free Health Clinic
Health Partnership Clinic of Johnson County
St. Luke’s Hospital
Swope Health Services $170,000 To support community health workers that will serve as care coordinators in three Kansas City safety net clinics and one hospital
Miles of Smiles, Inc. $100,000 To provide free, safety net, comprehensive dental care at their schools to 2,100 low-income, school-age children living in Kansas City, Mo. (specifically Clay and Platte Counties)
Niles Home for Children $63,250 To support RN services to provide high level health care coordination including providing health advocacy for our under-served youth service population
Providence Medical Center $75,000 To fund additional laboratory procedures for uninsured individuals in Wyandotte County, referred from safety-net clinics and who come directly to PMC
reStart, Inc.
American Lung Assoc. Happy Bottoms
John Yoder, O.D.
Legal Aid
Lincoln University
Sheffield Place
Swope Health Service $88,045 reStart’s Healthy Starts program provides health care education and health benefits advocacy to more than 200 homeless families and individuals each year. The program utilizes specialized staff and volunteers from the medical community to address health care management for homeless families and individuals with the goal of increasing their stability and independence. The program provides weekly health workshops, health screenings and health advocacy, as well as enrolls clients in health benefit programs and engages clients in community health care providers and resources to initiate proactive health care habits.
Riverview Health Services, Inc. $150,000 To provide funding for general operational costs, allowing RHS to provide pharmacy assistance services, medications and medical supplies, health literacy/education and care coordination and to begin to integrate those services on-site at various safety net clinics
Rose Brooks Center, Inc. $70,000 To create and support, what we know is a cornerstone to the wellness of our clients, a more comprehensive on-site SafeCARE Health Clinic Program
S A V E Foundation, Inc. $71,650 To support a Supportive Housing Services Program, including funding a Master’s level Social Work position, that will support individuals with HIV/AIDS, mental health or substance abuse issues obtain and maintain access to health care
Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center $100,000 To improve patient health care outcomes and achieve a higher standard of quality care for our patients through implementation of a fully functional, lingually accessible patient portal
Seton Center Family & Health Services $245,080 To help fund three staff positions, provide dental care and education to increased number of uninsured children and adults, and purchase dental equipment that will help streamline procedures, improving the speed and quality of service delivery.
Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care Services of Greater Kansas City $300,000 To provide access to comprehensive health care services for residents of some of the most impoverished areas neighborhoods in Kansas City
Sunflower House, Inc.
Children’s Mercy Hospital $75,000 To support Sunflower House’s services primarily through the support of contracted child abuse medical exams at Sunflower House’s on-site medical clinic
Swope Health Services $150,000 To support one full-time dentist and one part-time dental hygienist positions, which will allow SHS to maintain its region-side dental program for uninsured and underinsured low-income residents
The Children’s Mercy Hospital
Northland Neighborhood Incorporated
Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council
Westside Housing Organization $125,000 To improve the health status and long-term disease management of pediatric asthma patients
The Children’s Mercy Hospital $45,000 To establish a formal medical home within the Orange Clinic at the Pediatric Care Center (PCC) at The Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics, with a particular emphasis on children and youth with special health care needs
Jackson County Free Health Clinic, Inc., dba Shared Care Free Clinic $58,000 To support the salary of the physician team leader and medical director for one year
Truman Medical Center Charitable Foundation $103,666 To provide training, consultation, assessment, and individual and group treatments for PTSD
Turner House Clinic, Inc. $200,000 To provide quality, accessible health care to low-income children in a Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care
West Central Missouri Community Action Agency $130,000 To support a women’s health clinic serving low-income women and the implementation of patient health information technology
YMCA of Greater Kansas City $79,000 To support a healthy living director position that will coordinate the provision of regular nurse clinics and care management services to the uninsured in a community-based setting
The Safety Net are the final Foundation Defined Grants (FDGs) awarded by the Foundation in 2012. For more information, visit the Foundation’s website at www.healthforward.org.