Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Aug. 16, 2017) — Cedars-Sinai is bolstering an ongoing effort to strengthen the social safety net in the Los Angeles region with a third year of grants — totaling $4,827,930 — to programs that address the physical and mental healthcare needs of many underserved populations, including the homeless, at-risk youth, immigrants and others.
The funding represents Cedars-Sinai’s latest steps to increase financial, administrative and leadership effectiveness at community clinics and mental health organizations. The goal is to increase access and reduce disparities to those in need of health services.
“Hundreds of thousands of people in Los Angeles receive care at community health centers. In this time of healthcare uncertainty, the role of these community clinics has only grown in importance,” said Jonathan Schreiber, director of Community Engagement at Cedars-Sinai. “We believe we can impact the efficiency and quality of care given to LA’s most vulnerable populations with ongoing support for local healthcare institutions.”
The Cedars-Sinai Community Clinic Initiative was launched three years ago to strengthen the leadership and effectiveness of local clinics with a two-pronged approach.
Cedars-Sinai invested strategically in broad community-wide efforts to improve quality care, financial benchmarking, data analysis and leadership development at clinics in the Los Angeles area. The community partners involved in this initiative include Capital Link, the Center for Care Innovations, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, Healthforce Center at UCSF, the Institute for High Quality Care, the L.A. Trust for Children's Health and the Southside Coalition of Community Health Centers.
Cedars-Sinai also provided grants directly to individual clinics to improve their quality of care and patients’ experience. This component of the Community Clinic Initiative benefited a diverse set of partners, including The Achievable Foundation, a health center that treats children and adults with developmental disabilities; Los Angeles Christian Health Centers, whose Joshua House location serves the homeless population in downtown Los Angeles; and the Korean Health, Education, Information & Research (KHEIR) Center in Koreatown.
Through the Community Clinic Initiative, partners such as KHEIR have been able to participate in programs focused on quality improvement and the efficient management of clinic and health data. In addition, a grant from Cedars-Sinai allowed KHEIR to expand its successful chronic care program to promote diabetes self-management for Spanish-speaking patients. KHEIR’s community health center also is implementing new medical record software to track diabetes patients’ health.
Additionally, this year’s grants went to 13 mental health partner organizations that treat uninsured and undocumented patients who have a variety of mental health issues, substance use disorders and other challenges. The partner organizations include the Los Angeles LGBT Center, where Cedars-Sinai grants have helped fund a domestic violence prevention program, as well as Amanecer Community Counseling Services, which provides mental health counseling for low-income Latino parents and children. Treatments provided by these organizations include psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy and medication management for people who cannot obtain these necessary services through other means.
Funds from Cedars-Sinai also have been disbursed to several other nonprofits, including Step Up on Second, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, March of Dimes and the United Way’s Home For Good program to reduce chronic homelessness.
Art Ochoa, senior vice president of Community Relations and Development and chief development officer at Cedars-Sinai, said the institution remains committed to the many clinics and organizations that provide crucial services to underserved populations in the Los Angeles area.
“These efforts on the part of Cedars-Sinai take us back to our roots in 1902 as a community hospital serving a vulnerable population with the intent, then as now, to provide healthcare, support and services to those who need it most,” he said.
For a list of the Cedars-Sinai grantees, please see cedars-Sinai.edu/CBGO.
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