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Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust: October 2025
Three new fact sheets inform funders about how recent federal budget cuts will impact health care access, food assistance, and the health of immigrant families. The fact sheets detail what is being cut, when the cuts will take effect, and what to do next.
Responding to a Rural Hospital Closure: The Importance of a Phased, Multi-Pronged Approach
It has been over a year since the August 31, 2024, closure of a beloved community hospital in Ayer, Massachusetts following the bankruptcy of the private equity-backed Steward Health Care system. The impacts of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center closure continue to reverberate across this rural working-class region, adding to a growing sense of abandonment and frustration that has accumulated over waves of health care service cuts.
Designing Inclusive and Equity-Centered Health System Improvement Projects—Lessons from Three Initiatives
Disparities in access to health care persist for individuals with low incomes and Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Native American/Native Alaskan individuals and are particularly acute in behavioral health. Behavioral health care utilization rates among Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are less than half those of White adults. These disparities exist because of barriers in access such as limited provider networks, poor language access, a lack of culturally-aligned services, and technological barriers to telehealth. Working with health providers to create inclusive and accessible services is essential to building more equitable access to behavioral health care, and to healthier and happier families and communities.
To Improve Youth Mental Health, Funders Must Center Youth Voices
As youth mental health challenges continue to grow nationwide, a new initiative in Greater Cincinnati believes transformational change begins when youth are empowered to lead.
Georgia Health Initiative: July 2025
The Georgia Health Initiative released a new report titled “The Public Health Emergency Medicaid Unwinding: Georgia’s Redeterminations Experience,” which explores promising practices and lessons learned during the unwinding of Georgia’s Medicaid coverage. It also highlights ways these findings can support ongoing efforts to strengthen health coverage access in Georgia.
REACH Healthcare Foundation and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund: May 2025
The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and REACH Healthcare Foundation recently partnered with experts from Manatt Health to shed light on the potential impacts of $880 billion in cuts to the Medicaid program on Kansas.
Publications and Reports
Grantmakers Respond to Medication Errors
Medication errors are among the most common preventable medical errors. This Issue Focus article discusses a variety of strategies to reduce medication errors, from relabeling similarly named medications to purchasing and implementing new technologies in institutional settings, and how foundations can facilitate the adoption of these and other strategies.
Shoring Up the Safety Net: Grantmakers Act to Strengthen Providers Serving the Underserved
Health grantmakers are working to shore up the safety net in various ways. This Issue Focus explores grantmaker activities beyond providing funding for direct services and capital improvement, including strengthening organizational capacity, supporting community-based health plans, and educating policymakers.
Terrorism and Meeting the Needs of the Nation’s Children
The events of 9/11 and the ongoing threat of terrorism have had a profound effect on all Americans. Moreover, the systems responsible for responding in the event of a terrorist act, such as health and public safety, are less prepared to address the needs of children than other populations. This Issue Focus looks at strategies funders can use to incorporate the needs of children into emergency preparedness planning by involving schools, hospital pediatric departments, and other youth-serving organizations.