Foundation Awards Diabetes, Obesity Grants To Improve Care
St. Louis, Mo., Dec 20 -Two
area organizations have received a share of $1,171,259 in
grants from Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH). The funding
focuses on two important issues facing Missourians - improved
health care for individuals with diabetes and rising obesity
rates in Missouri. The grants also are part of two newly developed
MFH funding efforts - the Primary Care Access Initiative and
the Better Self-Management of Diabetes Priority Area Grant
program.
Central Ozarks Medical
Center, in Richland, has received a $900,000 three-year
grant to improve access to primary care in rural Miller County
and expand the medical center's health promotion, disease
prevention and diabetes and obesity education programs to
uninsured adults and children. This funding is part of the
Primary Care Access Initiative, which focuses on strengthening
the health care safety net and improving access to care for
Missouri residents. This is one of eight grants made across
the state under this Initiative, for a total of $5 million.
Morgan County Health Center,
in Versailles, has received a $271,259 three-year grant to
help health center patients control their diabetes through
better health choices and behavior change. The project expects
to serve 1,200 individuals. This grant is one of eight across
the state funded under the Better Self-Management of Diabetes
program, which opened in 2006 and encourages high-quality
care for individuals with this chronic disease.
"We are pleased to provide
grants through these two new funding efforts," says Dr.
James R. Kimmey, MFH's president and CEO. "Our Primary
Care Access Initiative helps address a serious issue in our
state - that many Missouri residents, especially those living
outside our urban areas, have a problem accessing adequate
health care facilities, services and providers. Our diabetes
program enables the health care system to help patients take
a more active role in managing their chronic disease effectively,
and thus live healthier lives."
Established in 2000 through the for-profit conversion
of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, MFH is the largest
non-governmental funder of community health activities in
the state. MFH is in its fourth year of grantmaking, issuing
more than $195 million in grants and awards to date. It is
dedicated to serving the uninsured, underinsured and underserved
in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.
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