Elevating Quality to Achieve Equity in Free and Charitable Clinics: The Work of ‘Roadmap to Health Equity’

Cat Hulburt, Senior Director, U.S. Programs, Americares
Ashley Edwards, Director, U.S. Programs, Americares
Madison Bates, Associate, U.S. Programs, Americares

Each year, more than two million low-income, uninsured, and underinsured people in the United States rely on approximately 1,400 nonprofit free and charitable clinics and charitable pharmacies for essential health care. These clinics use a volunteer/staff model to provide a wide range of health services including medical, dental, pharmacy, vision, and behavioral health services. Many clinics also address social needs, such as connecting patients to housing, food assistance, or employment assistance programs.

VIEWS FROM THE FIELD

A Marathon, Not a Sprint

Our five-year campaign to evaluate impact and ensure sustainability of CHWs in Kansas

David Jordan, President and CEO, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund
Katie Schoenhoff, Vice President of Programs, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund
McClain Bryant Macklin, Vice President, Policy and Impact, Health Forward Foundation
Nathan Madden, Policy Impact Strategist, Health Forward Foundation

Community Health Workers (CHWs), also referred to as health navigators, advocates, or promotor(a)s, are trusted community members trained to work with local health care and social services to help clients navigate often complex systems of care, while also improving the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund (Health Fund) and Health Forward Foundation have long supported CHWs in Kansas and Missouri, providing grants to organizations to support CHWs in a variety of settings — clinical and community-based — as well as supporting coalition-building, training, research, and advocacy efforts.

SPOTLIGHT

Celebrating Civic Health Month!

Eileen Salinsky, Program Advisor, Grantmakers In Health

August is civic health month and an opportune time to reflect on organizational and individual commitments to civic engagement. A growing body of research has established a relationship between civic engagement and health outcomes, such as improved access to health care services, lower rates of chronic diseases, longer life expectancy, and improved mental health. Evidence suggests that civic engagement and health are mutually reinforcing. Healthy people are more likely to be civically engaged and higher levels of civic engagement appear to improve population health. Communities with more inclusive voting policies enjoy higher levels of voter participation, greater social cohesion, improved community conditions, and better health status.

GIH NEWS

Call for Grantmakers In Health Board Nominations

Nominations Due Friday, August 30, 2024

Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is seeking nominations for a few positions on its board of directors for terms beginning in March 2025. Self-nominations are welcome.

GIH is committed to better health for all through better philanthropy and is seeking candidates who align with this vision and are committed to advancing health equity. Ideal candidates represent the diversity of health philanthropy across a variety of personal and professional dimensions, including demographics, life experience, professional skills, geographic location, organization size and assets, and type of health funder.

We welcome all applications and this year the board is prioritizing candidates with expertise in finance, fundraising, and communications/marketing. The board is also seeking candidates from the South, Midwest, and Mountain regions.

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Introducing the GIH Health Policy Exchange

We are excited to announce that the Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Fall Forum has been rebranded as the GIH Health Policy Exchange. The new name reflects the conference’s purpose: to provide opportunities for health funders focused on policy to network with policymakers and other funders, exchange ideas and best practices, and identify opportunities for collaboration.

The theme of this year’s Health Policy Exchange is “Beyond the Ballot: Advancing Policy in a New Administration” and it will be held November 11 — 13, 2024, at the Hilton Washington DC Capitol Hill. Taking place just one week after the presidential election, we will discuss the outcome’s impact on philanthropy’s work advancing better health for all, delve into critical policy issues that impact the country, as well as share updates from the Hill.

Registration for the Health Policy Exchange will open later this month. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact us.

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Grantmakers in Health and Grantmakers In Aging Release Feedback on Draft Legislation to Reauthorize the Older Americans Act

On July 18, 2024, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) responded to a request for feedback from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on the discussion draft to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA). In their letter to the committee, GIH and GIA applauded the inclusion of the White House Conference on Aging in the draft; noted their appreciation for the focus on paid and unpaid caregivers through a Direct Care Workforce Resource Center and the draft’s recognition of the diverse circumstances of caregivers; but were disappointed to see that Multisector Plans for Aging were not included. In addition, they stressed the importance of ensuring OAA programs and services reach older people in underserved communities, including rural areas, as well as provided other comments and recommendations to the Senate HELP committee.

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Philanthropy Careers

Grantmakers In Health offers a listing of current professional opportunities in health philanthropy on the GIH website.

Recent opportunities:

View the full list of opportunities

Submit an Opportunity to the GIH Career Board

Posts are free for GIH Funding Partners; for all others the cost is $99 for a 90-day post. At this time, we only accept positions based in health, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector. GIH retains the right to review all posts for appropriateness and relevance to our community. Please contact us at info@gih.org with any questions.

Submit Career Opportunity Listing

PHILANTHROPY @ WORK

Grants & Programs

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (Boston, MA) • The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts (Worcester, MA) • The Heinz Endowments (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) • Horizon Foundation (Columbia, Maryland) • Nord Family Foundation (Amherst, Ohio) • Point32Health Foundation (Canton, MA) • The Williamsburg Health Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)