Quality Health Foundation Announces Call for Proposals

Grant-Giving Organization to Provide Funding in 2014 to Eligible Groups

EASTON, Md., Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Quality Health Foundation (QHF)—the mission arm of Quality Health Strategies (QHS), a national not-for-profit organization committed to improving the quality of healthcare—announces a call for proposals for the 2014-2015 grant cycle. QHF will award grants to eligible organizations that work to improve health care for individuals and communities through measurable outcome improvement projects. Over the last three years the Foundation has awarded over $1.1 million to 21 different organizations, and in 2013, QHF gave $555,200 to eleven organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

QHF will fund various projects, including service demonstration programs producing high-impact results on health outcomes. Projects selected for funding should directly impact individuals and their communities and the results should be exportable to other organizations. Applications for grants will be accepted from December 1, 2013 through January 31, 2014 and applicants will be competing for a total of $350,000 in awards. Grant applicants will be notified of their award status in June 2014.

"We were pleased by the scope of projects we were able to fund in 2013 and are certain that efforts by the grant recipients will have a measurable impact on the access to and quality of health care," said Brenda Crabbs, Chair of QHF's Board of Directors.  "We plan to again award grants up to $50,000 to recipients, such as faith-based groups; healthcare providers; educational institutions; community-based, non-government organizations; and other organizations and individuals committed to improving access to quality health care. We will prioritize funding based on a project's potential impact on healthcare improvement and access to care for individuals and communities."

Funding priorities for the 2014 grant cycle include:

• Improved treatment through the use of best practices
• Improved access to healthcare services
• Improved understanding of health issues
• Improved measurable outcomes

QHS formed QHF in 2003 in an effort to further its mission of improving health care in local communities. "Quality Health Strategies works across the nation to help improve the quality of health care people receive," stated Fredia Wadley, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer. "QHF was established to give back to the communities we collaborate with in our quality improvement contracts and further our mission by providing services others have not funded. We are looking forward to seeing what types of projects will be proposed for funding in the 2014-2015 grant cycle."

Applicants must be from Maryland, where Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care (DFMC) is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) or from the District of Columbia, where Delmarva Foundation of the District of Columbia (DFDC) is the CMS QIO. Applications are available at www.qualityhealthfoundation.org. The deadline for 2014-2015 proposals is January 30, 2014.

About Quality Health Foundation
Quality Health Foundation is the mission arm of Quality Health Strategies, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. Formed in 2003, the mission of QHF is to improve the health of individuals and communities. To achieve this goal, the organization provides modest grants to local charitable and not-for-profit organizations that are undertaking improvement projects to impact access to and quality of healthcare and human services for individuals and communities. Since 2006, QHF has awarded grants totaling over $2.65 million to 49 different organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit Quality Health Foundation on the Web at www.qualityhealthfoundation.org.

SOURCE Quality Health Foundation