Medical Safety Net in Florida to Strengthen with Recent Grants

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blue Foundation for a Healthy
Florida has approved grants to be awarded this summer to nine nonprofit
Florida organizations dedicated to expanding the health care safety net for
people who may otherwise go without care or rely on costly emergency room
visits.

Recipients, grant totals and program areas funded are:
-- Bay Medical Center - St. Andrew's Clinic -- $96,000 -- medical
supplies and medications to treat patients at St. Andrews Community
Medical Center in Panama City.
-- Broward Health -- $60,000 -- case management to help kinship families
find a primary medical home and enroll in health insurance programs
through the Kinship Cares Initiative.
-- Camillus House, Inc. -- $98,700 -- walk-in clinic to treat acute
illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases and skin infections, and
screen
for Tuberculosis and vision at Camillus House shelter in Miami.
-- Children's Volunteer Health Network -- $99,360 -- restorative
dental care to children in pre-K through 3rd grade from Santa Rosa
Beach.
-- Community Coalition on Homeless Corporation -- $100,000 -- full-time
clinic coordinator and part-time dental assistant for a medical and
dental clinic in Bradenton.
-- Heart of Florida Health Center, Inc. -- $50,000 -- psychiatric
evaluation, referral coordination, brief crisis intervention and
community mental health prevention and education in Marion County.
-- Good Samaritan Health Centers, Inc. -- $66,932 -- dental equipment,
set-up supplies and part-time dental hygienist for The Wildflower
Clinic
in St. Augustine.
-- Partners In Adolescent Lifestyle Support (PALS) -- $100,000 --
school-based outreach aimed at reducing barriers to mental health
treatment and suicide/violence prevention for teens that attend
schools
in Gainesville.

-- Wakulla County Health Department -- $100,000 -- public health services
coordinator to help clients connect to state and other health care
programs.

"We're proud to play a small part in the huge impact these organizations make
on the lives of our in-need neighbors," said Susan Towler, executive director,
The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida. "When individuals are struggling to
pay for basic food and shelter, medical needs are often left on the back
burner. These admirable organizations are making sure people receive care
regardless of their ability to pay."

Through strategic philanthropy, The Blue Foundation supports community-based
solutions that address the health care needs of Floridians, particularly the
uninsured and underserved.

The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida is a separate, philanthropic
affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF), incorporated in
the state of Florida. The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida, and its
parent, BCBSF, are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield
companies. For more information on The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida,
please visit its Web site at www.bluefoundationfl.com.

SOURCE The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida

Mark S. Wright of The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida, +1-904-905-6935,
or cell, +1-904-233-3481, mark.wright@bcbsfl.com