Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to the Fresno Area
Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit program is committed to making a difference in the communities we serve, fulfilling our organization’s mission.
In 2017 alone, KP Fresno Area Community Benefit provided a total of $2,712,381 in grant donations to organizations serving communities in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties.
“Our community investments are focused on addressing some of the most urgent needs in our communities,” Community Benefit Manager Marie Sanchez said. “We truly hope to make a difference for underserved populations by partnering with local organizations and agencies to provide cash and in-kind donations as well as clinical expertise.”
Grant funding priorities are determined every three years by a comprehensive community health needs assessment. Grant recipients must address one of the priority health needs to be eligible for a Community Benefit grant. The priority health needs and some of our 2017 grants included:
Access to Care – Increase access to high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate care for low income and vulnerable populations.
- Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, “See 2 Succeed” school-based vision project for kids – One hundred forty mobile clinics provide no-cost vision services to more than 2,000 underserved children, including eye exams and reading and prescription glasses.
- Healthy Smiles Mobile Dental Foundation, “Saving Smiles One Smile at a Time” – This grant supports two mobile units that will provide oral health care for more than 13,000 children annually.
- UCSF Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research, Doctor’s Academy – Provides enrichment activities and clinical, research and community internships to economically disadvantaged high school and college students in Fresno County.
- Valley Health Team, Inc., Medicine Residency Program – A Family Medicine Residency Program was created to alleviate the shortage of primary care providers in our community. More than 9,000 underserved individuals will have increased access to care.
Healthy Eating Active Living – Increase opportunities for all community members to eat better and move more to prevent and reduce the impact of chronic conditions. An emphasis is on improving healthy eating and physical activity among low-income residents.
- Community Food Bank, CalFresh outreach and healthy food donation – Assists eligible individuals with the CalFresh application and implements a CalFresh hotline. More than 264,000 pounds of fresh produce was purchased for low-income and rural communities.
- Family HealthCare, CalFresh outreach in Madera and Kings counties – CalFresh enrollment targets the low-income populations of these areas while also increasing access to care.
- Fresno Metro Ministry, Healthy food access and consumption – Program reaches 10,000 residents in six underserved neighborhoods by distributing 300,000 pounds of healthy food at neighborhood distribution events.
- Saint Rest Baptist Church, Saint Rest Community Green Space park – This grant supports a partnership with the City of Fresno to build and activate a playground in West Fresno. It’s estimated this project will serve 4,800 residents.
Mental Health and Wellness – Increase access to high-quality behavioral health care services with an emphasis on expanding prevention services; decreasing stigma; and increasing access to services for low-income populations.
- California Health Collaborative, Perinatal Mental Health Integration Program – This project builds a strong network and referral process for women experiencing postpartum depression, implementing provider training, a referral network, and a maternal wellness coalition.
- Family Foundations Counseling Services, “Resilience: Trauma Informed Care in Schools” – Expands the school-based mental health services at Hamilton Middle School from three days a week to five days a week, shortening wait times and ensuring students get the help they need.
- Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries, Southeast Asian collaborative for Mental Health and Wellness – Project focuses on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services to the Southeast Asian community.
- Poverello House, Access to health care and mental health services; healthy eating donation – This grant supports a Resource Manager who assists homeless clients with obtaining health and mental health care, employment resources, and housing programs with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency. Monetary donation provides 13,000 meals to families during the holiday season.
