Philanthropy Steps Up to Fill Gap in Health News Journalism
October 7, 2011
HARTFORD, CONN. – Oct. 7, 2011 – The Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) board of directors recently awarded the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, WNPR, a one-year $80,000 grant to support its Health Reporting Initiative. WNPR plans to report and broadcast more than 150 health-related stories per year, providing listeners with in-depth coverage of health care issues, research, health reform, and health policy.
As part of their Health Reporting Initiative, WNPR is also looking to expand its listenership and level of civic engagement through community partnerships and live on-location broadcasts. These activities are key to ensuring that everyone in Connecticut’s diverse communities gain and improve their understanding of health issues.
“CT Health realized four years ago that news organizations were cutting back on health news coverage and saw a role philanthropy could play in filling that gap,” says Patricia Baker, president & CEO. “This partnership makes it possible for Connecticut’s residents to gain access to timely, in-depth, and solution-oriented reporting on key trends in local, regional and national health news.”
John Dankosky, news director for WNPR and host of Where We Live says, “The Connecticut Health Foundation has again stepped forward to help WNPR’s Health Reporting Initiative to flourish and grow. This grant lets our exceptional reporters better cover stories about health disparities and children’s health around Connecticut. This year, we’re paying special attention to our urban areas, and how changes in health care have affected city residents. We are thrilled to continue this partnership and serve the public radio listeners of Connecticut.”
New forms of nonprofit, grant-funded news organizations are flourishing throughout the country, and CT Health is a leader having supported several news organizations including: CTMirror, New Haven Independent’s Online News Journalism, CTNewsJunkie, CT Public News Service, and CT Health I-Team.
OTHER GRANTS AWARDED
- Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC) (Middletown), the state’s first federally qualified health center to achieve national certification as a patient-centered medical home, was awarded a two-year $150,000 grant to evaluate the viability of implementing electronic consultations (E-consults) aimed at improving the specialty care referral system for patients and providers. CHC will partner with the University of Connecticut (UConn) Health Center’s Department of Cardiology for the referrals and UConn Center for Public Health to conduct the research and evaluation.
- Connecticut Council on Philanthropy (Hartford) was awarded a 15-month $82,000 grant to develop and implement a Connecticut Health Care Survey to obtain data from 4,000 residents on health care coverage, satisfaction, and outcomes. The Council, serving as the fiduciary agent, is collaborating with other foundations including: Aetna Foundation, Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, Donaghue Foundation and the Foundation for Community Health to fund the survey, which is being conducted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
- Connecticut Department of Social Services (Hartford), the state’s lead agency for public safety net programs: Medicaid, HUSKY and Charter Oak, was awarded a one-year $100,000 grant to integrate racial and ethnic health disparities identification and reduction into the planning and implementation processes as Connecticut’s medical programs move toward patient-centered medical homes.
- Connecticut Oral Health Initiative (COHI) (Hartford), received a two-year $300,000 grant to advocate for the establishment of dental homes for Connecticut residents and for the integration of oral health within primary care. COHI is a statewide agency that promotes increased access to oral health care for children and the inclusion of oral health into the broader spectrum of primary care.
PRESIDENT’S DISCRETIONARY GRANTS AWARDS
- Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc. (Middletown) was awarded a $17,000 grant to support a work group consisting of state and private agencies that will coordinate research and advocacy efforts to improve interagency collaboration and protocols for those working with parents with mental illness and the needs of their families
- Connecticut Family Support Network (Glastonbury) was awarded a $5,000 grant to support its project, Strengthening Conversations to Promote Systems Change (CTFSN), a program for children with special physical or mental health care needs. CTFSN, working with the families, plans to enhance the growth and development of the children through responsive public policy and improved access to optimal care and services in their own communities.
- Mount Aery Development Corporation (Bridgeport) was awarded $20,000 for its Ashe Faith Project, which will host a series of community forums to raise awareness and educate consumers and health providers about racial and ethnic differences that directly impact health outcomes. The Ashe Faith Project, founded in 2010, addresses the intersection of historical trauma, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and health disparities.
- State of Connecticut, Office of the Lieutenant Governor (Hartford) was awarded a $2,500 grant to support infrastructure and administration for the Office of Health Reform & Innovation.
- URU, The Right To Be, Inc. (New Haven) was awarded a $15,000 grant to support the documentary, Present and Unaccounted For: Black Women in Medicine,” which features some of the country’s most prominent African American female doctors across a number of disciplines telling their stories about their groundbreaking accomplishments in the medical field.
About the Connecticut Health Foundation
The Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) is the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving lives by changing health systems. Since it was established in July 1999, the foundation has supported innovative grant-making, public health policy research, technical assistance and convening to achieve its mission – to improve the health of the people of Connecticut.
Over the past 11 years, CT Health has awarded grants totaling $44.7 million in 46 cities and towns throughout the state in three priority areas:
- Improving access to children’s mental health services
- Reducing racial and ethnic health disparities
- Expanding access to and use of children’s oral health services
For more information about the foundation, please visit www.cthealth.org or contact Senior Communications Officer Maryland Grier at Maryland@cthealth.org or 860.724.1580, ext. 21.
