Kaiser Permanente Approves $29 Million in Community Benefit Grants

Efforts Reinforce Commitment to Healthy Eating, Active Living and Safety Net
Partnerships

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the fourth quarter
of 2007, Kaiser Permanente approved 778 community benefit grants, totaling
more than $29 million. The charitable contributions underscore the
organization's commitment to improve the health of the communities that it
serves. Funds were pledged or paid in each of Kaiser Permanente's eight
geographic regions, with key grants being made to aid the fight against
obesity in Colorado and strengthen the quality of care to underserved
populations through safety net partnerships in California.
"Kaiser Permanente recognizes that good health requires more than
exceptional health care at the doctor's office or hospital. Our members,
neighbors, employees, physicians, families, and friends cannot be healthy if
they live in unhealthy community environments or do not have access to quality
care in their communities," said Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., senior vice
president, Community Benefit. "With the guiding vision of making total health
a reality for everyone, we look to offer assistance to organizations that
share this goal and remain committed to expanding our impact beyond our
walls."
LiveWell Colorado
In December, Kaiser Permanente pledged $16 million to allow LiveWell
Colorado, a program that supports community-based initiatives to fight
obesity, to become its own non-profit entity charged with coordinating obesity
prevention and wellness efforts statewide. The umbrella organization,
confounded by The Colorado Health Foundation, the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment, and Kaiser Permanente, will be one of the first
of its kind in the United States to serve as a central hub for overseeing and
optimizing healthy eating and active living programs throughout a state.
LiveWell Colorado will support a range of community-based efforts to
transform playgrounds, schools, businesses and neighborhoods so that
Coloradans have access to healthy, affordable food and safe physical activity
as part of everyday life. The new entity will be able to leverage resources,
build support for policy change, coordinate strategies, promote
self-efficiency and help stakeholders from all sectors work collaboratively to
reduce obesity rates and trends in Colorado. This type of convergence work is
hailed by public health experts as a crucial step toward making meaningful
impacts on the nation's obesity epidemic.
Strengthening Quality in the Safety Net
With more than 18 percent of Californians uninsured or underinsured, many
of the state's residents receive care from "safety net" organizations. In an
ongoing effort to improve the quality of care provided to these most
vulnerable members of the population, Kaiser Permanente approved 39 grants
totaling more than $7.5 million for safety net hospitals and partners in the
last quarter of 2007.
The funding from these grants will go to programs that seek to foster a
more coordinated and more effective system of care for everyone in our
communities. These include developing interventions to better manage patients
with chronic conditions, promoting preventative programs, healthy lifestyle
choices and medication adherence among patients. Many grants will assist with
data collection and maintenance, leveraging technology to improve efficiency
and quality.
Kaiser Permanente has been partnering with the community for 60 years to
improve public health, by providing care and coverage to vulnerable
populations, and encouraging healthy eating and active living in the
communities it serves.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in
1945, it is a not-for-profit; group practice program headquartered in Oakland,
Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves 8.7 million members in nine states and the
District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser
Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their
subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser
Permanente includes approximately 156,000 technical, administrative and
clerical employees and caregivers, and 13,000 physicians representing all
specialties. In 2006, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed $808 million in
health services, technology, and funding to Community Benefit-toward total
community health. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit the KP News Center
at: http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter.
http://www.kaiserpermanente.org
SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

Lorna Fernandes, Kaiser Permanente National Public Relations and Media
Manager, +1-510-217-5624