Quality

In Texas, the lack of access to health care, coupled with inadequate and under-resourced systems, has had a profoundly negative impact on communities of color and underserved areas. COVID-19 has laid bare the severity of these issues even more so. These factors, and our commitment to achieving health equity, have informed the St. David’s Foundation’s primary care safety net strategy.

Health Forward Foundation is celebrating 15 years of grantmaking. In this time, the foundation has anchored access to safety net health care for those most in need in the Kansas City region. Along the way, we have learned valuable lessons about maximizing our investments through innovations and partnerships to benefit those most in need.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trust was compelled to do our part. Like most philanthropic organizations, we were determined to maximize impact and make grants quickly, while also adhering to our due diligence standards.

This country’s safety net health system has always been a place of innovation. The safety net includes community health centers and public hospitals that serve the 100 million patients who either have Medicaid or lack health insurance entirely. With limited resources and patients with complex medical, social, and behavioral health needs, the safety net has long had to innovate out of necessity.