The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky has provided more than $1.3 million in 2014 for community programs, polling and policy initiatives to not only advise policymakers but also advocate for better health and health care across the state.
"Our strategies to address the unmet health care needs of Kentuckians are built on investment at the local and state levels," Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a news release.
The foundation said it donated $125,000 to Kentucky Voices for Health, a coalition of lobbying groups that support health reform; $50,000 to Kentucky Youth Advocates, an organization dedicated to the improvement of public policies that influence the lives of children and families and $60,000 to the University of Cincinnati for the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll.
As part of a 2012-17 strategic plan to help school-aged children grow up to be healthier than their parents, the foundation provided three grantees money to set in motion the business plans they developed. Recipients included: Clinton County School District ($158,361), Fitness for Life Around Grant County ($182,033) and Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness ($161,850). The foundation also funds a multi-year study of Kentucky's transition to managed-vcare Medicaid.
The foundation matched a $3 million federal investment to begin nurse-managed clinics, telemedicine, mobile health services, care navigation and and an activities center. These projects "have improved the quality of life for more than 20,000 Kentuckians and provided training for more than 250 providers," according to the release.
To support the improvement of health literacy in Kentucky, the foundation invested $100,000 in health programming on KET, and $25,000 with the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky , mainly for the publication of Kentucky Health News.