Blue Shield of California Foundation Gives $11.2 Million in Funding to Improve Health & Safety for Vulnerable Californians

SAN FRANCISCO, June 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California Foundation announced today $11.2 million in grants to improve the quality of healthcare and domestic violence services for the most vulnerable Californians. A key focus of the second-quarter funding is to promote innovative, value-based service-delivery integration for healthcare, domestic violence, and other social services to ensure effective, coordinated care.

"Our state's underserved, low-income patients and survivors of domestic violence face significant barriers to care that are magnified by a poorly integrated healthcare system," said Peter Long, PhD, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation. "We believe that strengthening the integration and coordination of services across the safety net will remain critical as California navigates the current healthcare environment."

Targeted at urban and rural safety net providers, these grants will continue to support health information exchanges and other technology inter-operability projects, as well as new models of care delivery addressing access to specialty care and behavioral health services. This funding aims to transform the ability of the safety net to offer seamless, well-coordinated care and bring California safety net providers closer to a "no wrong door" model in which patients with complex problems can always be redirected to the best available services.

Grant recipients who will receive support include:

• California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
• Community Health Partnership, Inc.
• Futures Without Violence
• JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.
• Prevention Institute
• Public Health Institute
• Social Finance, Inc.

These grants bring the Foundation's total philanthropic giving to nearly $396 million since 2002.

A complete list of Q2 awards can be found here.

About Blue Shield of California Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state's largest and most trusted grantmaking organizations. Our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians, particularly the underserved, by making health care accessible, effective, and affordable, and by ending domestic violence. For more information, visit:  www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.  

SOURCE Blue Shield of California Foundation