Foundation News: Interest Areas

New Feature: What we’re reading at REACH

In our work, we come across a number of news items and reports related to the REACH Foundation’s funding priorities and strategic goals. “What we’re reading at REACH” is a collection of links to noteworthy articles that have caught our attention.

Recently, there have been a number of reports and articles on the barriers to access to dental care. Following are stories and reports on this topic:

Kansas Public Radio produced two stories on the registered dental practitioner model that has been presented as one approach to improving the dental workforce shortage in Kansas:

• About the proposed model for Kansas
• About a W.K. Kellogg Foundation study of the quality of dental practitioners worldwide.

The New York Times published an opinion piece by Louis W. Sullivan,  former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from 1989 to 1993, who wrote in early April about the national dental workforce shortage.

ABC World News produced a report on the difficulty children on Medicaid face in obtaining dental care. 

A report, Dental Crisis in America: The Need to Expand Access, was released and reviewed at the Senate Committee on Health, Labor and Pension’s Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging meeting on February 29, 2012.

Resources & Reports

The report, Dental Crisis in America: The Need to Expand Access, was released and reviewed at the Senate Committee on Health, Labor and Pension’s Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging meeting on February 29, 2012. 

New Feature: What we’re reading at REACH

In our work, we come across a number of news items and reports related to REACH Foundation’s funding priorities and strategic goals. “What we’re reading” is a collection of links to noteworthy articles that have caught our attention.

The Kaiser Family Foundation illustrates in simple graphic form how the individual mandate works under the Affordable Care Act.

A former REACH Foundation Board member has written a blog post on Latinos and health care in Kansas City, Kansas.

The Kansas City Free Health Clinic was recently featured in several area news reports on KCUR and in the Kansas City Star.  KC Free is a REACH grantee and participates in the Foundation’s Medical Home Initiative.

The New York Times has created an interactive map documenting “The Geography of Government Benefits” as part of a recent feature story.

FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE

MERRIAM, KANSAS – Eleven Greater Kansas City area health and social service organizations will receive a year of technical assistance to help the organizations improve their capacity to serve diverse populations. The technical assistance is being underwritten by three local funding organizations – the REACH Healthcare Foundation, the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Jackson County, Mo., Community Mental Health Fund.

The awards are part of a Cultural Competency Initiative started by the REACH Foundation that aims to reduce health disparities by preparing organizations and workers in health, mental health and human service fields to meet the health needs of racially, ethnically and culturally diverse populations. The initiative focuses on policies, practices and other organizational changes that can influence culturally competent delivery of care.

The REACH Foundation introduced the initiative in 2009 and offered technical assistance to five organizations in the first year. The Health Care Foundation joined the initiative in 2010, expanding the number of participating agencies. The Jackson County Community Mental Health Fund, a tax levy fund, brought additional resources to the initiative in 2012 to support mental health providers in Jackson County, Mo. The latest awards bring the total number of participating organizations to 24.

“Through our investments in health and human services, we recognize that cultural competency is a major factor in how people receive health services and improve their health outcomes,” said Carla Gibson, Senior Program Officer, the REACH Foundation. “Area nonprofit leaders understand the link between cultural competence and health, but don’t have the financial resources to bring in expertise to guide them.”

The eleven organizations selected for 2012 are:

The selected organizations will work with a team of technical assistance consultants to identify areas of need and develop an individualized work plan. In addition, representatives of each organization are invited to participate in a monthly learning community group that provides additional education and connects organizations to local and national resources, and regional conferences on related topics.

 ###

 To learn more, contact:

•  Carla Gibson, Senior Program Officer, REACH Healthcare Foundation, www.reachhealth.org
• Adriana Pecina, Program Officer, Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, www.hcfgkc.org
• Theresa Reyes-Cummings, Director of Program Development, Jackson County Community Mental Health Fund, www.jacksoncountycares.org

Download the press release.

Announcements

Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center opened its new $25.1 million facility last week, located at 825 Euclid in Kansas City, Missouri, just across the street from its old facility. Read The Kansas City Star article on the new clinic.

Announcements

Cabot Westside Health and Dental Center, part of St. Luke’s Health System, in December received top-level national designation as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. Cabot is one of eight clinics participating in the REACH Foundation’s Medical Home Initiative, and the second clinic of that group to achieve the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Level III designation, the highest recognition for a medical group. 

The Foundation’s Medical Home Initiative began with four clinics in 2007 and currently involves eight clinics working to implement medical home standards as defined by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). REACH provides access to individualized technical assistance through Qualis Health and its subsidiary, Outlook Associates, to support the clinics’ quality improvement activities.

Read the Cabot Westside Health and Dental Center press release.

Resources and Reports

The Pew Hispanic Center has released a report, “The Toll of the Great Recession: Child Poverty Among Hispanics Sets Record, Leads Nation.”

Click here to read more about health disparities and the REACH Foundation’s Cultural Competency Initiative.