PRESS RELEASE

IBC Foundation awards grants of nearly $700,000 to date in 2012

Latest grants distributed in support of two primary initiatives: caring for the most vulnerable and building healthy communities

Philadelphia, PA — July 3, 2012 — Today, the Independence Blue Cross (IBC) Foundation announced that it had awarded nearly $700,000 in grants to date in 2012. The nine grants targeted two primary areas of focus for the Foundation: caring for the most vulnerable and building healthy communities.

“The IBC Foundation, launched in October 2011, builds upon Independence Blue Cross’ seven-decade long and deep social commitment to our community,” said Lorina Marshall-Blake, president of the IBC Foundation. “Through our work each day to transform how health care is delivered, build healthier communities, and spur innovation, the Foundation will help create a more viable health system for generations to come. These grants are the most recent example of that work.”

The IBC Foundation focuses on caring for the most vulnerable through the Blue Safety Net program, which provides grants to private, nonprofit health clinics or other entities that deliver quality, cost-effective care to primarily uninsured people in medically underserved areas. Today, the IBC Foundation announced grants totaling $300,000 to four organizations:

•  11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University, to support the expansion of award-winning services at this health center that serves a north Philadelphia community that has the highest percentage of families living in poverty, unemployment, and people with diabetes in the city;
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, to implement a “patient-centered medical home” at the PCOM Healthcare Center which provides medical and consultative services to families and individuals in an underserved, at-risk West Philadelphia community;
• Project H.O.M.E., to support St. Elizabeth’s Community Health Center expansion, which includes the transition to a new Wellness Center and integration of health and wellness services for the homeless;
• Youth Service, Inc., to help provide comprehensive medical examinations and follow-up care to more than 400 runaway youth.

Through its Building Healthy Communities initiative, the IBC Foundation seeks to partner with community leaders and programs to improve the health and wellness of the people of southeastern Pennsylvania. Today, the IBC Foundation announced grants totaling almost $400,000 to five organizations:

• Philadelphia Allied Health Partnership, to develop a program that revolves around an innovative pipeline model and implement a financially sustainable Allied Health Associates Degree College for minority student populations at a Philadelphia high school to help meet the growing demand for qualified allied health professionals;
• Penn Asian Senior Services Inc., to support a coalition to deliver better care to Asian Alzheimer's patients, improve the quality of life for caregivers, and reduce health care costs by providing families with the tools required to deliver quality care;
• Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, to help primary care providers enhance the quality of care for older adults with dementia through evidence-based, patient-centered care which involves family and community as part of the health care team;
• National League For Nursing Inc., using Advancing Care Excellent for Seniors (ACES) to build partnerships to improve care to older adults;
• Community Health Partners for Sustainability, to support a partnership to highlight innovations in nurse-led health clinics/Federally Qualified Health Centers and to promote improving care quality.

Since its launch in October 2011, the IBC Foundation has awarded more than $2 million in Blue Safety Net grants to 34 private, nonprofit community health clinics that provide high quality, cost-effective primary, medical, and dental care to 145,000 uninsured and underinsured men, women, and children.

In total, the IBC Foundation has supported more than 80 grants in a five-county region surrounding Philadelphia, totaling more than $3.6 million, including $1 million in Nurses for Tomorrow grants to 22 area nursing programs to fund scholarships to strengthen the nursing workforce through education, career development and research.

About the Independence Blue Cross Foundation
Launched in October 2011, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation is an independent, private foundation whose mission is to transform health care through innovation in the communities it serves. The IBC Foundation complements and expands upon Independence Blue Cross’s 74-year commitment to improving the health and wellness of the people of southeastern Pennsylvania. The IBC Foundation targets the following areas of impact:

• Caring for our most vulnerable: Supporting nonprofit health clinics that deliver quality, cost-effective primary, medical and dental care to uninsured and underinsured people.
• Enhancing health care delivery: Strengthening the nursing workforce through education, career development, and research.
• Leading innovative approaches to health care: Supporting new and creative solutions that reduce health care spending, improve quality, and expand access to care.
• Building healthy communities: Partnering with community leaders and programs to address community health and wellness needs.

 

© 2012 Independence Blue Cross Foundation
Independence Blue Cross and the Independence Blue Cross Foundation are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, serving the needs of Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania.