PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 23, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Independence Blue Cross Foundation has awarded grants to 15 non-profit community health clinics serving 70,000 people. Support for these clinics, totaling $1.04 million, is made through the foundation's Blue Safety Net initiative, and is one of three major areas the foundation will target in an effort to help transform health care through innovation in the Philadelphia region. The foundation expects to award an additional $1 million in grants to community health clinics before the end of the year, bringing IBC's support for the program to more than $2 million for 2011.
"We are proud to support these clinics, which for many people is their only source of primary care," said foundation president Lorina Marshall-Blake. "Tens of thousands of people depend on these clinics. The regular treatments and check-ups they receive keep them out of the emergency rooms and help them avoid very costly specialty care that is often needed when chronic conditions, like diabetes or heart disease, go untreated. Supporting clinics not only keeps people well and out of the ER, but it also saves our region millions of dollars by preventing unnecessary and expensive care."
The 15 clinics receiving foundation support are:
- Adult Health Center of Gwynedd-Mercy College,Lansdale, PA
- Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic, Doylestown, PA
- ChesPenn Health Services, Inc., Chester, PA
- The Clinic, Phoenixville, PA
- Community Volunteers in Medicine, West Chester, PA
- Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Philadelphia
- Covenant House Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- Eleventh Street Family Health Services of Drexel University, Philadelphia
- Esperanza Health Center, Inc., Philadelphia
- Family Practice and Counseling Network, Abbottsford/Falls Health Center, Philadelphia
- HealthLink Medical Center, Southampton, PA
- North Penn Visiting Nurse Association, Lansdale, PA
- PHMC Health Connection, Philadelphia
- St. Catherine Laboure Medical Clinic, Philadelphia
- VNA Community Services, Inc., Ginny Coombs Children's Health Center, Abington, PA
"We are grateful to the Independence Blue Cross Foundation for recognizing how important local clinics are to the health and well-being of our communities," said Patricia Gerrity, director, Eleventh Street Family Health Services of Drexel University. "The IBC Foundation's support helps us offer services such as dental and behavioral health care, as well as a fitness center and nutrition training, which have become an integral part of what we offer and what our patients appreciate and need to stay healthy. IBC has been an extraordinary partner in helping us grow our facility and better serve our patients."
In an event launching the IBC foundation on October 6, 2011, Independence Blue Cross president and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty said that IBC will make an initial commitment of $10 million to fund the work of the foundation. The foundation will target two other areas: leading innovative approaches to health care and developing the health care workforce of the future with an intense focus on nursing education.
The foundation's support for clinics expands upon IBC's commitment to improving health care access for the under and uninsured. Since 2005, Independence Blue Cross contributed nearly $15 million to help support 36 private, nonprofit health clinics that serve nearly 120,000 patients and provide 400,000 visits annually in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
More information about the Independence Blue Cross Foundation can be found at: www.ibxfoundation.org.
About the Independence Blue Cross Foundation
Launched in October 2011, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation is a charitable private foundation whose mission is to transform health care through innovation in the communities it serves. The foundation complements and expands upon Independence Blue Cross's 73-year commitment to improving the health and wellness of the people of southeastern Pennsylvania. The foundation targets the following areas of impact:
- Caring for our most vulnerable: Supporting nonprofit health clinics that deliver quality, cost-effective care to uninsured and underinsured people.
- Enhancing health care delivery: Strengthening the nursing workforce through education, career development and research.
- Leading innovative approaches to health care: Supporting new and creative solutions that reduce health care spending, improve quality, and expand access to care.
Independence Blue Cross offers products directly, through its subsidiaries Keystone Health Plan East and QCC Insurance Company, and with Highmark Blue Shield—independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.