Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center, based in Burlington, invested $883,000 in Fiscal Year 2016 in a broad range of non-profit social service and health programs in Chittenden and Franklin counties through its Community Health Investment Fund. Support was directed to critical needs including affordable medical care, expanded free and reduced-cost school breakfast, transportation for seniors, and oral health care for children, among others. This year’s recipients include the Public Health Dental Hygienist program, the Chittenden County Opioid Alliance, KidSafe CHARM team, and the Vermont Ethics Network. (See full list of organizations and grant amounts below.)
Community Health Centers of Burlington received $100,000 to support the Patient Assistance Program. Courtesy photo.
Funding priorities are informed by findings in the triennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) conducted by the UVM Medical Center in collaboration with a community steering group. Funding decisions are made by the Community Health Investment Committee, which includes hospital employees and community members. The Affordable Care Act requires tax exempt hospitals and health systems to conduct a CHNA every three years and develop an implementation strategy.
Five priority areas were identified in the 2013 Assessment: access to food and nutrition, dental health, mental health, removing barriers to health care (e.g. affordability, transportation, housing) and improving the well-being of seniors.
“This effort embodies our mission: working together we improve people’s lives,” said Penrose Jackson, director of Community Health Improvement at UVM Medical Center. “Because medical care accounts for just a fraction of a person’s health status, it’s critical that we address broader factors like nutrition, housing and substance abuse treatment. We’re proud to partner with community organizations which are doing such vital and excellent work," she added.
The grants are part of more than $100 million in community benefits provided by the UVM Medical Center each year, including charity care. The UVM Medical Center has been making grants of this type since the 1980’s. The 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment will be released later this month.
Community Health Investment Fund Grants - FY16
Federally Qualified Health Center Grant
Community Health Centers of Burlington, Medical Sliding Fee, $100,000
Grant funds are used to support the Patient Assistance Program, which offers a full array of support services available to all CHCB patients and community residents in need of access to care and financial assistance programs.
Program Grants
Burlington Housing Authority, Housing Retention Team, $40,000
The Housing Retention Team supports tenants at risk of losing their housing due to medical, mental health, and substance abuse issues, domestic violence or due to hoarding.
Burlington School District, Tooth Tutor Program, $5,000
The Tooth Tutor program provides access to cleaning, treatment for caries, and other routine dental needs, and for students K-12, as well as oral health education to students and families.
Champlain Valley Head Start, CVHS Tooth Tutor Program, $10,694
CVHS’s Tooth Tutor program supports low-income families in establishing dental homes for their children, keeps children up to date on oral health care and supports families in understanding preventative oral health.
Howard Center, Street Outreach Team, $50,000
The Street Outreach Team puts mental health clinicians “on the street” in downtown Burlington to work with individuals needing mental health services, as well as outreaching with merchants, police, and the general public.
Hunger Free Vermont, Breakfast after the Bell Challenge, $23,625
The Breakfast after the Bell Challenge aims to increase participation in School Breakfast Programs, and build awareness about the importance of a nutritious breakfast in enabling children to reach their full potential.
KidSafe Collaborative, Children and Recovering Mothers Team (CHARM), $19,000
CHARM is a multi-disciplinary coalition of health and social service providers that work to improve health and safety outcomes of babies born to pregnant women with a history of opiate dependence.
United Way of Chittenden County, Neighbor Rides, $33,000
The Neighbor Rides program integrates volunteer drivers into the current human services transportation system in order to improve efficiency and increase capacity and access for seniors and persons with disabilities.
United Way of Chittenden County, $100,000
Funds support a variety of programming that align with one or more of the five community needs identified in the UVM Medical Center’s 2013 community health needs assessment: Access to Food and Nutrition, Dental Health, Mental Health, Removing Barriers to Care, and Seniors.
Vermont Department of Health, Public Health Dental Hygienist, $50,000
The goal of this public health dental hygienist (PHDH) is to promote early preventive oral health for families enrolled in the Women and Infant (WIC) program. The PHDH works directly with families, promoting evidenced based best practices with medical and dental health care providers, and by supporting health department Office of Oral Health programs (like the Tooth Tutor School-linked sealant program) at the local level.
Vermont Works for Women, Fresh Food Program, $45,000
FRESH Food is a social enterprise program with a dual mission to equip women and youth who have barriers to employment with the skills to succeed and to simultaneously address childhood hunger. FRESH Food provides approximately 250 meals each day to fourteen childcare programs in our area.
Visiting Nurse Association, Family Room, $37,556
Funds support for the continuum of early intervention programming which helps at-risk moms develop and sustain nurturing relationships with their children. Programs include Early Months; Crawlers, Waddlers and Toddlers; and Strong Families.
Visiting Nurse Association, Adult Day, $23,800
The VNA Adult Day Program provides physical, social, and rehabilitative support for vulnerable adults five days each week with hours and locations convenient for working families of participants.
Emerging Need Grant
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Coordinated Entry, $10,000
The VNA Adult Day Program provides physical, social, and rehabilitative support for vulnerable adults five days each week with hours and locations convenient for working families of participants.
Collective Impact Grants
The Caring Collaborative, $31,000
The vision of the Caring Collaborative is that all children in our community have access to services and supports necessary to thrive and obtain their maximum potential living within caring, stable and resilient families. The Caring Collaborative believes that the right place to meet the needs of both children and families is within the child care setting.
Chittenden County Opioid Alliance, $100,000
The Chittenden County Opioid Alliance’s vision for change is to reduce the burden of opiate use disorders in Chittenden County using a Collective Impact approach that will improve public health and public safety outcomes. The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission serves as the backbone agency.
Who’s your Person, What’s your Plan? $100,000
The collaborative will mobilize a broad-based, street level campaign that normalizes conversations about death and dying, and provides opportunities for citizens to consider, discuss, and document the kinds of treatments that they would, and would not want at the end-of-life. Vermont Ethics Network serves as the backbone agency.
Source: UVMMC 6.1.2016