Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Awards $768,387 in Grants to Address Health Care Disparities

BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation has awarded $768,387 in
grants to 11 community health organizations around the Commonwealth to address
health care disparities on the basis of race, ethnicity, immigration status,
age, mental illness, and sexual orientation. Eight organizations will receive
checks for $70,000. Three others will receive funding totaling $69,956, $68,435,
and $69,996.

The grant represents the first phase of an intended three-year award schedule in
the Closing the Gap on Health Care Disparities program area from the Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. The grants support innovative programs
designed to address health care disparities. The first phase will support
program planning; all grantees are eligible to apply for further funding in
August, 2009 to support program implementation.

“The mission of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is to
expand health care access for all residents of the Commonwealth,” said Jarrett
T. Barrios, President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.
“The existence of health care disparities, particularly those based on race and
ethnicity, is well known. The Foundation believes these inequities in care
delivery are adaptive problems and require that community members and providers
collaborate to change health care delivery and create programs that will help
eliminate the barriers to care. We see this as a chance to bring new voices to
the table and to raise public awareness about achieving health equity.”

An innovative component of this grant area will be the creation of a statewide
“learning community” to build relationships, share best practices, and create
solutions among those who work in reducing health care disparities in the state.
Members of the learning community will convene in person, as well as online.

The following organizations have been awarded grants in the Closing the Gap on
Health Care Disparities grant program area:

AIDS Action Committee was awarded $70,000 to support the efforts of a group of
20 women of color with AIDS and two clinical HIV/AIDS doctors at Massachusetts
General Hospital. Together, the group will define barriers to care and develop
proposed system changes to eliminate disparities in the delivery of health care
to women of color with AIDS.

Cambridge Cares About AIDS was awarded $70,000 to partner with the Justice
Resource Institute and develop a Community Advisory Group to address the
disparities in health care for HIV positive men of color who have sex with men.
Late entry to medical care contributes to the higher mortality rate experienced
by HIV positive men of color who have sex with men. This project will consist of
a community-based participatory research project, creation of a strategic plan,
infrastructure development and the design of an evidence-based community level
intervention to reduce the number of individuals who delay accessing care.

Casa Latina was awarded $70,000 to document why Latinos in Hampshire County
under-utilize available healthcare resources. Casa Latina will partner with five
Hampshire County health agencies as well as members of the county’s Latino
population to develop an action plan to reduce disparities in health care access
among Latinos in Hampshire County.

Central Massachusetts Area Health Education Center was awarded $69,956 to study
the reasons why Brazilians and Latinos in Framingham experience disparities in
accessing mental health and substance abuse services and propose an intervention
plan to reduce those disparities. Central Massachusetts Area Health Education
Center will partner with the MetroWest Mental Health and Substance Abuse Task
Force to establish the Framingham Mental Health and Substance Abuse Health
Disparities Project to oversee the initiative.

Community Health Center of Cape Cod was awarded $70,000 to study and plan
interventions to address the higher rates of diabetes among African, Asian,
Latino, and Brazilian immigrants on Cape Cod. The center will partner with the
other four community health centers on the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard to run a
project called “Healthy Immigrant Families” and build on the existing Cape and
Island Diabetes Coalition collect data, analyze findings, and develop
appropriate interventions.

Lowell Community Health Center was awarded $70,000 to address the disparities
experienced by Cambodian, African, Brazilian, and Latino immigrants in accessing
mental health services. The health center will create the Gateways to Care
program that will identify, study, and address the gaps in access to mental
health services.

Mount Auburn Hospital was awarded $70,000 to address the higher rates of
diabetes experienced by Latinos in the Waltham community. Working with Power
Program, WATCH, and the Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center, they will
launch Listen and Learn, a comprehensive community and provider assessment and
outreach initiative to reduce Type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Partners for a Healthier Community was awarded $70,000 to address the higher
rates of diabetes experienced by Latinos and African Americans in Springfield
and Western Massachusetts. Partners will convene Reducing Health Disparities in
Blacks and Hispanics at Risk of and with Diabetes to expand the community
chronic care model for accessing care.

ServiceNet, Inc. was awarded $70,000 build a coalition with the infrastructure
to address the health and wellness needs of the chronically mentally ill and
developmentally disable adults in Northampton and Western Massachusetts.
ServiceNet will also conduct a thorough needs assessment and ecological survey
of health wellness resources and plan interventions to reduce disparities in
care for the developmentally disabled and chronically mentally ill.

Tapestry Health was awarded $68,435 to address the high rates of teen pregnancy
among Latina teens in Northampton and Western Massachusetts. The grant will fund
the identification of inequities in health care practices, identify potential
solutions, and implement interventions. Tapestry will also develop a task force
to address the disparities that result in high rates of pregnancy among Latina
teens and will support teen involvement on the task force.

The YWCA of Central Massachusetts was awarded $69,996 to address the health care
disparities that result in higher rates of obesity among Latinos in the
Worcester area. The YWCA will build a community coalition and enlist the support
and participation of businesses, educators, and health care providers to study
and develop interventions to address disparities in care among Latinos.

More about the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation

The mission of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is to
expand access to health care. Through grants and policy initiatives, the
Foundation works with public and private organizations to broaden health
coverage and reduce barriers to care. It focuses on developing measurable and
sustainable solutions that benefit uninsured, vulnerable and low-income
individuals and families in the Commonwealth, and served as a catalyst for the
pioneering Massachusetts health care reform law passed in 2006. The Foundation
was founded in 2001 with an initial endowment of $55 million from Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Massachusetts; the endowment has since grown to $108 million. The
Foundation operates separately from the company and is governed by its own
18-member Board of Directors. It is one of the largest private health
philanthropies in New England and in 2007 was awarded the Paul Ylvisaker Award
for Public Policy Engagement by the Council on Foundations.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation
Susan Ryan-Vollmar, 617-246-2404
susan.ryanvollmar@bcbsma.com

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