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Community Health

Goal and Objectives

Goal: Promote health equity for underserved populations by expanding access to services, promoting community-based prevention, and advancing health policy reform.

Background for Objectives One and Two

With over 6.8 million Californians lacking health insurance, Bay Area residents face multiple barriers to accessing affordable health care. The passage of the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and it’s enabling legislation in the state of California have created a unique opportunity to expand access to health care for low income individuals. Implementation of the sweeping legislation will require the collective efforts of the public and private sector, philanthropy, healthcare policy and advocacy organizations, and other nonprofit organizations to be sure that key provisions of the new healthcare law provide access to quality healthcare for underserved populations. To this end, the Community Health Program will focus its grantmaking on efforts to strengthen community understanding, support, and engagement in healthcare reform implementation; support key provisions of the federal legislation that significantly impact low-income communities and communities of color; and strengthen the healthcare safety net to expand access for underserved populations, including those not covered by the new law.

Objective One: Policy and Advocacy

Support policy and advocacy efforts to implement health reform to insure that underserved populations have access to culturally competent, quality, and affordable healthcare.

Strategies:

Support education and advocacy efforts to improve community literacy regarding eligibility and coverage options for underserved populations
Support community organizing efforts to assure underserved populations have a voice in healthcare reform implementation
Support state, regional, and local policy and advocacy efforts that address key provisions of health reform that significantly impact low-income individuals and families, and communities of color such as the expansion of Medi-Cal and other provisions that address health inequities
Support policy and advocacy efforts to preserve and increase state and local funding for existing healthcare safety net services

Within these strategies, special consideration will be given to:

Targeted programs to address health inequities based on race, ethnicity, language, national origin, and socioeconomic status
Programs that strengthen the voice of grassroots leaders and organizations
Nonprofit organizations that have a positive track record educating and enrolling eligible populations in public programs

Objective Two: Community Investment

Invest in community clinics and other healthcare safety net providers to assure access to culturally competent, quality, and affordable healthcare for underserved populations.

Strategies:

Support and strengthen community-based clinics and other healthcare safety net providers to expand access to underserved populations, including access for those not covered by healthcare reform
Support the use of culturally and linguistically competent health workers to implement evidence-based strategies to reduce the rates of chronic disease and promote health and wellness

Within these strategies, special consideration will be given to:

Programs that target limited-English immigrants and refugees and formerly incarcerated individuals
Community clinics that demonstrate the capacity to leverage funding opportunities created by healthcare reform
Programs that demonstrate community clinics’ capacity to operate as medical homes to ensure high-quality low-cost healthcare

Background for Objective Three

Health is more than access to health care. Low-income communities and communities of color bear the heaviest burden of disease and poor health status due to both individual behavior and the social determinants of health – environmental, economic, educational, and social factors – that contribute to these inequities in health status.

Health providers and policy makers are increasingly focused on prevention and improving the health of underserved communities by going beyond the healthcare setting to address these root causes of health inequity. To this end, the Community Health Program will focus its grantmaking on investing in strategic collaborations at the local level that cross sectors to develop community prevention strategies and supporting efforts that promote health and reduce health inequities with an emphasis on healthy eating/active living.

Objective Three: Community Investment

Invest in community-based organizations, community leaders, and public health departments to plan and implement community prevention activities to reduce chronic disease rates and address health inequities.

Strategies:

Invest in planning and capacity building efforts that engage community-based organizations, community leaders, and public health agencies to work in collaboration across sectors (E.g. public health, transportation, land-use planning, economic development, and environment and environmental health agencies) to develop community prevention strategies that advance health and well-being and reduce chronic disease
Invest in grassroots organizing that solicits the input and knowledge of residents on how community prevention strategies can improve overall health and well-being at the neighborhood level
Support efforts to ensure that all Californians have access to affordable, culturally appropriate, nutritious food

Within these strategies, special consideration will be given to:

Efforts that demonstrate strong cross-sector collaboration and support within the local community for specific community-based prevention efforts
Efforts that support improving the scale, quality, service delivery, and financial and operational sustainability of agencies that work to increase the accessibility of affordable, nutritious, culturally appropriate food
Efforts to establish full-service grocery stores and bring healthy foods into neighborhoods

Using restricted trusts, the Community Health Program funds organizations that serve the following special populations/programs on an invitation-only basis:

Cancer care for indigent patients
Mental health services
Services for amputees
HIV/AIDS
Services for the visually and hearing impaired
Nursing students/education
Persons with disabilities
Seniors

The Community Health Program will not fund:

Direct services for oral healthcare
Direct services for substance abuse either in the inpatient or outpatient setting
Clinics with limited hours of operation
Programs targeting single disease, such as arthritis, muscular dystrophy, osteoporosis, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, and Parkinson’s
Complimentary and alternative medicine and therapies
Community gardens, farm stands, and farmers’ markets