Creating a Healthier School Environment

The Child Nutrition Act of 2004 required schools to develop and implement wellness policies by the 2006-07 school year, and most did. But they have had little impact, and many students still have easy access to unhealthy foods and beverages and few opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day.   

On this call, Lindsey Turner of Bridging the Gap will review results from one of the most comprehensive studies to date of health-related policies and practices in U.S. elementary schools. Topics covered will include school meals, competitive foods and beverages, and physical activity and physical education. Policy opportunities for funders will be identified for each. Next, Debbie Watson of the Winter Park Health Foundation will share her experience as a grantmaker working with local schools to promote healthy eating and active living among students.  

Strength in Numbers: Building Effective Coalitions

A strong coalition of individuals and organizations that share common advocacy objectives can be a persuasive force in achieving policy change. But effective coalitions do not often build themselves! This audioconference examined how health funders have supported the development and operations of advocacy coalitions to inform policy decisionmaking and explored the key factors predicting the success of these efforts.

Funders' Discussion on the Social Innovation Fund

Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families; Grantmakers In Health; and Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce cosponsored a funders' discussion on the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). This audioconference provided funders and philanthropic advisors with a timely opportunity to discuss and respond to the newly released draft Notice of Funding Announcement for public comment on the SIF. The deadline for public input is January 15, 2010. The final SIF funding notice is expected to be released in February 2010. An announcement of the selected grantmaking institutions is expected in the summer of 2010. 

Increasing Access to Dental Care through the Use of New Midlevel Providers

Underserved populations in the United States frequently lack access to dental care and experience higher rates of oral disease and unmet oral health needs. To help fill these gaps in care and reduce disparities, new models to train midlevel dental providers are being developed. On this call, Dr. Burton L. Edelstein discussed his recent report Training New Dental Health Providers in the U.S. (funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation). Interest in this area is growing and both state and federal governments have taken steps to support such providers, but plenty of work remains. Next, Dr. Albert K. Yee provided an update on the Dental Health Aide Therapist program run by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. This program has successfully increased access to dental care for Alaska Natives who are often isolated in rural villages and lack local dentists.  

Supporting Breastfeeding as a Strategy for Improving Children's Nutrition and Healthy Development

The debate is over! Breastfeeding improves the health of mothers and their children.” This was one of the opening lines at the first Annual Summit on Breastfeeding in Washington, DC, in June 2009. Not only is breastfeeding free, available everywhere, and used in all cultures, current scientific evidence demonstrates the immediate and lifelong health benefits for children that are derived from the practice.  

How can we inform and assist communities in taking advantage of this important, well-documented resource? Join us on this call as we explore:  

-What are the evidence-based benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and children?      
-Where are the gaps in breastfeeding rates?
-How can community-based initiatives provide essential opportunities for improving the practice of breastfeeding in the United States?  

Improving Cultural Competence to Reduce Behavioral Health Disparities

Evidence-based practices have been labeled the gold standard, but is this always the case?  Do these practices reduce racial and ethnic behavioral health disparities, or could they contribute to their continuation? On this webinar, Dr. Kenneth Martinez reviewed the strengths and limitations of using evidence-based behavioral health practices across cultures and explored some effective alternatives, including community-defined evidence.  Next, Rick Ybarra discussed the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health’s efforts to culturally adapt evidence-based practices for communities of color.

Comparative Effectiveness Research: What Do Health Funders Need to Know?

Comparative effectiveness research (CER)—studies that compare health care treatment options to inform decisionmaking—is alternately described as the best or worst idea in the ongoing dialogue about how to fix American health care. On this one-hour call funders learned more about the implications of CER on U.S. health care.

County Health Rankings: Using Data to Improve Community Health

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) County Health Rankings is the first set of reports to rank the health of every county in the nation.  A collaboration between RWJF and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the rankings show how counties measure up within each state in terms of how healthy people are; how long they live; and how important factors such as tobacco use, obesity, access to health care, education, community safety, and air quality affect their health. 

Kids' Access Funders Network: Health Reform

On this call of the Kids' Access Funders Network, Jocelyn Guyer of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families updated funders on the provisions of the health reform law that will have the most impact on children and families, Ed Walz of Spitfire Strategies discussed post-reform messages that funders and their grantees might use.

Children's Dental Health: A State-by-State Look at a Growing Problem

Tooth decay is the most common childhood disease, affecting over 50 percent of Americans age 18 and under. To highlight the important role states play in providing access to dental care for children, the Pew Center on the States, the DentaQuest Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation released a 50-state report on children’s dental health.  Topics covered include untreated cavity rates, school-based prevention efforts, community water fluoridation, Medicaid program performance, and shortages of dentists.  On this audioconference, funders found out how well or poorly their states fared as speakers shared results and reflected on opportunities for grantmaker involvement.  

Bridging the Health Care Workforce Gap: Combating Shortage and Diversity Challenges

Critical shortages in the health care workforce may jeopardize access to quality health care for an increasingly diverse and aging population in the United States. Overall shortages of health care workers are occurring in all fields, which are often exacerbated by geographic maldistribution of providers.  Additionally, should health care reform pass, it is unclear how our already strapped health care system – including the workforce – will handle the increased demand for services.  

The long lead-time required to reinforce the health care workforce increases the imperative for putting a wide range of strategies in place to address the issue as soon as possible. Failure to intervene may undermine future attempts to expand access to health care and further negatively affect the lives of all the citizens in this country.  

Health Care Reform: What's in the Law and What's Philanthropy's Role as it is Implemented?

Now that health care reform has been signed into law, funders are eagerly trying to understand what’s in the law and its implications for their communities, their grantees, their states, and their own work. Len Nichols will explain the key provisions of the new law, the immediate and longer-term challenges in its implementation, and the pivotal roles foundations can play in educating the public, continued advocacy, and supporting state implementation efforts.

Achieving Results with Promise Neighborhoods: Ensuring Children's Healthy Development, Well-Being, and Academic Success

Legislation appropriating federal funding to the Promise Neighborhoods initiative represents a public-private undertaking aimed at helping local communities achieve dramatic improvements in the outcomes and opportunities available for children, youth, and families in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty. This initiative is patterned from the approach and achievements of the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) model, which focuses intensively on supporting children's educational, health, and social development from birth through college graduation.

Join us for a briefing on the Promise Neighborhoods initiative where we will discuss proposed recommendations for how communities can best design and implement programs that build on the successes and lessons learned from the HCZ model. Strategies for funders to become engaged in preparing their communities to become Promise Neighborhoods grantees will also be highlighted. 

Advancing Policy Change at the Local Level

Advancing policy change is one way funders can ensure sustainability for important programs or initiatives. In this audioconference we explored how engaging local leaders and promoting locally focused public policy pose unique opportunities and challenges. Translating national policy to the local level and shaping local policies to meet the needs of communities can take many forms, involve a variety of decision makers, and influence community health in myriad ways. Engaging policymakers at the local level often requires strategies distinct from, yet intrinsically related to, state or federal policy interventions.

Health Reform Implementation: Ensuring Health Coverage for Low-Income Americans

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act significantly expands access to Medicaid and provides premium and cost-sharing subsidies for lower-income Americans to obtain coverage through health insurance exchanges. Ensuring successful implementation of these provisions is critical and will require collaboration across sectors and among multiple stakeholders within and outside the health care system.   Among the various efforts being undertaken to ensure that those eligible for coverage are enrolled is Enroll America, a new nonprofit organization under development by Families USA.  Questions about this project have come up on several recent GIH audioconferences.  California HealthCare Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided support for the development of a business plan for Enroll America.  

Sam Karp and Andy Hyman will open the audioconference by discussing the foundations’ interest in providing this initial support to the project. Ron Pollack will describe the structure and expectations for this new organization and will answer any questions from those participating on the call. There also will be time for a funders-only discussion after Mr. Pollack’s presentation.

The Great Need for Behavioral Health Workforce Development

Access to mental health and addiction services is dependent upon the presence of a qualified workforce, but many communities across the United States face a severe shortage of behavioral health professionals. At the same time, the available workforce is not representative of the nation’s changing demographics or effectively able to respond to the increasing incidence of co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. On this Webinar, John Morris and Michael Hoge of The Annapolis Coalition discussed these issues, as well as the coalition’s Action Plan for Behavioral Health Workforce Development and specific opportunities for funders. In addition, Victor Capoccia of the Open Society Institute, and formerly of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ), shared information on the behavioral health component of Jobs to Careers, an initiative funded by RWJ and the Hitachi Foundation that seeks to advance the career development of low-wage incumbent workers providing services on the frontlines of our health care systems. This initiative received the Council on Foundations 2010 Critical Impact Award.

Implementing Health Reform's Prevention and Public Health Fund

This webinar will provide an overview of the Fund and discuss key implementation issues such as how funds may be allocated, types of programs and activities that may receive support, and evaluation plans. 

Health Reform: Messaging and Public Education

This GIH audioconference will explore public education and messaging efforts at the state and national levels. Susan Sherry of Community Catalyst will provide an overview of current efforts, as well as discuss the challenges inherent in developing, coordinating, and disseminating messages for the public.  Janet Davenport from Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut will share her foundation’s strategies to develop messages around health reform for various communities within the state. 

Health Reform Messages for the Small Business Community

In the coming weeks, Grantmakers In Health will be scheduling small group conference calls for funders who are interested in talking to each other about specific issues related to health reform. The first of these calls will take place tomorrow, on the topic of developing, coordinating, and disseminating messages on health reform for the small business community. The discussion will be led by Kate Gervais of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.

Policy Evaluation: Matching Methods to Purpose

Methods to evaluate policy and advocacy efforts have become increasingly sophisticated and more widely implemented in recent years. This two-hour audioconference featured three case study examples, each highlighting different approaches to this type of evaluation effort.

Taking Action to Address Disparities Through Health Reform

Numerous provisions in the new national health reform law provide opportunities for addressing racial and ethnic health disparities in the United States. Join this audioconference for an overview of key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that are either indirectly or specifically designed to improve the health of communities of color. Our speakers will discuss current and emerging areas of opportunity through which health funders may be able to support the implementation of these provisions.