A nurse measures a patient at People’s Community Clinic in Austin.
May 13, 2013 marked a major milestone for the Episcopal Health Foundation. After more than a year of extensive planning, EHF and its board of directors announced the approval of more than $2.4 million to our first grant partners.
“These grants reflect our intent to create strong health systems that can address the root causes of poor health in our communities,” said the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, the ninth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and chair of the Episcopal Health Foundation board of directors. “We’re dedicated to moving beyond a charity model of philanthropy to be a transformative model that brings long-lasting change to a community’s well-being. Our first grants are an initial step toward that goal.”
EHF’s overarching vision is transformation to healthy communities for all — that means we want to make long-lasting improvements to the health of people who need the most help. EHF developed seven strategies to help strengthen health systems and connect communities to achieve community health. Each grant recipient meets one of those key strategies.
“We believe every grant partner is part of the change we think is necessary to achieve community health,” said Elena Marks, EHF’s president and CEO. “Together, they also begin to build strong, connected communities that team up to tackle tough health problems together, instead of working in isolation.”
Grants announced include:
- $145,086 to CommUnity Care Health Centers (Travis County)
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant will support a one-year demonstration diabetes prevention project to work with 5,000 pre-diabetic patients from vulnerable populations served in CommUnity Care’s 25 health centers. The goal is to discover the best interventions to prevent the onset of type-2 diabetes in these at-risk, low-income patients.
CommUnity hopes to then share the information and lessons learned with other federal qualified health centers in Texas and across the country so that others served in community health centers can benefit from the kinds of interventions often unavailable to lower-income populations.
- $183,816 to Houston Galveston Institute (Fort Bend and Harris counties)
Strategy: Mental health and wellness
Grant provides operating support for agency operations to enable HGI to continue providing mental health services to vulnerable populations. HGI is a long-standing organization providing mental health services to those most in need in Fort Bend and Harris counties. HGI hopes to expand its services to other locations, but needs a strong infrastructure to support expansion. EHF’s grant will strengthen the organization so it will be in a better position to expand services in the future.
- $100,000 to Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (Central, East & Southeast Texas)
Strategy: Mental health and wellness
Grant provides support to advance a collective research and policy agenda on mental health and health care across Texas. Grant will help fund a Houston-based senior fellow to advance behavioral health policy research that will impact non-profit organizations providing behavioral health services. This grant builds the capability of our diocese to understand, plan for, and respond to mental health needs.
This is the first round of EHF grants to be awarded in 2015. The Foundation expects to announce additional grant partners in June, September, November and December. EHF estimates it will invest approximately $9 million in grants to community organizations in 2015. The goal is for grant-making amounts to grow each year as we build partners and capacity in the region.
“There’s a shared pride within the board that we’re now in position to begin to change people’s lives for the better,” said Linnet Deily, executive chair of EHF’s board of directors. “When you combine these grant investments with all the other important work we do, we have the opportunity to make that kind of mark.”
EHF’s May 2015 Grant Partners:
Boat People S.O.S., Inc. (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston & Harris counties)
$75,000
Strategy: Access to health services
Grant is to provide culturally-competent navigation services to underserved Asian-Americans on how to overcome barriers and obtain health insurance. Services will educate vulnerable population about the Affordable Care Act health insurance plans, Medicaid, CHIP and other benefits programs.
CommUnity Care Health Centers (Travis County)
$145,086
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant is to support a one-year population health demonstration project to support/implement a diabetes prevention intervention for pre-diabetics. The goal of the project is to prevent the onset of diabetes in an at-risk, vulnerable population.
Early Matters (Harris County)
$100,000
Strategy: Early childhood development
Grant supports the Early Matters collective impact initiative in order to ensure the impact on health and the inter-relationship between early brain development, education and long-term health outcomes are maximized.
Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services – ECHOS (Fort Bend & Harris counties)
$100,000
Strategy: Access to health services
Grant to support ongoing enrollment and outreach services
Houston Galveston Institute, Inc. (Fort Bend & Harris counties)
$183,816
Strategy: Mental health and wellness
Grant to provide operating support to stabilize agency operations in order to continue providing mental health services to vulnerable populations.
Ibn Sina Foundation (Harris County)
$500,000 (over two years)
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant is to support clinical services provided in a new expansion clinic that provides access to health services for the underserved and uninsured. ($250,000/year for two years).
Interfaith Community Clinic (Montgomery, Harris & Waller counties)
$100,000
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant will provide operating support for the volunteer-operated clinic.
The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (Central & East Texas)
$100,000
Strategy: Mental health and wellness
Grant to provide support to advance a collective research agenda on mental health and health care in Texas. Grant will also support a Houston-based senior fellow to advance behavioral health policy research that will impact non-profit organizations providing behavioral health services.
Northwest Assistance Ministries (Harris County)
$120,000
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant is to establish a comprehensive case management program for NAM’s children’s clinic. The program will address factors impacting children’s health by conducting in-home visitations and determining the root causes of their re-occurring medical issues.
People’s Community Clinic (Travis, Bastrop & Williamson counties)
$257,500
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant is to support the delivery of high-quality healthcare to low-income, uninsured and otherwise vulnerable individuals and families in Central Texas, including addressing root causes of health problems through programs like the Austin Medical Legal Partnership.
San Jose Clinic (Harris County)
$75,000
Strategy: Access to health services
Grant to provide ongoing operating support for clinic services and to increase access to care to individuals who have been determined to be ineligible for Medicaid, CHIP, ACA or other health coverage.
SEARCH Homeless Services (Harris County)
$225,661
Strategy: Access to health services
Grant is to provide comprehensive case management to secure coverage for homeless individuals and help guide them to access primary and mental health services.
TOMAGWA Health Care Ministries (Harris, Montgomery & Waller counties)
$150,000
Strategy: Comprehensive, community-based primary care
Grant provides operating support for the volunteer-operated health clinic.
The Women’s Homes (Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris & Montgomery counties)
$125,000
Strategy: Mental health and wellness
Grant is to provide behavioral health services to women who struggle with issues related to mental illness and addiction with a history of homelessness.
Trinity Center (Travis County)
$25,000
Strategy: Mental health and wellness
Grant is to provide navigation and case management services that connect a homeless population in Austin to necessary medical, mental health and social services.
By the numbers
$1.2 million to support comprehensive, integrated community-based primary care
$475,000 to increase access to health services
$433,000 to support mental health and wellness
$100,000 to enhance early childhood development