Kaiser Permanente Approves $43 Million in Community Benefit Grants in Fourth Qu...( Efforts Reinforce Commitment to Safet...),Health

Efforts Reinforce Commitment to Safety Net Partnerships and Quality Health Care for Underserved Communities

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente announced today that it approved 739 Community Benefit grants and donations totaling approximately $43 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. The not-for-profit health care organization's Community Benefit grants in the fourth quarter focused on strengthening health in underserved communities by improving prevention, access to primary care and advancing education for health care professionals who will serve in these communities.

"In these tough economic times, communities are relying even more on community health centers and public hospitals to meet their health needs," said Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy. "These grants are a part of Kaiser Permanente's commitment to supporting prevention and improving the quality of care."

Key grants in the four Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit focus areas include:

Safety Net Partnerships

Kaiser Permanente has funded five organizations with $4.5 million via the Southern California Specialty Care Access Initiative. The grants will be administered as part of an initiative launched in 2007 to address the access of low-income and underserved populations to gastroenterology, orthopedics, neurology, ophthalmology and cardiology. These grants will be issued to the following agencies:

• The Children's Clinic, to provide comprehensive health care to medically underserved, low-income and high-risk populations. Funding will be used by the Long Beach Coalition to foster professional and sustainable relationships with specialists and primary care providers, and to develop guidelines to make specialty care more accessible to the community.
• The Council of C
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