Care for our Community: Kaiser Permanente health grants top $500K

Kaiser Permanente announced 23 community health grants totaling more than $500,000 to Santa Cruz County non-profits. The grants support programs on improving mental and behavioral health, healthy eating and active living, access to care and coverage, and community and family safety. The grants are part of Kaiser Permanente’s national Community Health program, which has distributed $2 billion in healthy living grants across the nation.

. “Kaiser Permanente continues to support the well-being of the Santa Cruz County community through these grants,” said Irene Chavez, the senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente San Jose and Santa Cruz County. “Our Community Health program is part of Kaiser Permanente’s mission to improve the well-being of the neighborhoods where we work.”

The 2018 Santa Cruz County grants range from $6,700 to nearly $90,000. Grantees include the CruzMed Foundation, Dientes Community Dental Care, 1st Five Santa Cruz County, and the Live Oak and Pajaro Valley Unified School Districts. Earlier this year, Encompass Community Services received a grant of $89,985 to address the stigma around accessing mental health services.

Kaiser Permanente’s grants are only part of our commitment to Santa Cruz County, said Dr. Christine Levan, physician in charge of the Santa Cruz County Medical Offices.

“This year, our physicians, nurses and staff are volunteering more and more in community health events, fitness programs, even a recent beach cleanup. And we worked in the famous Santa Cruz Homeless Garden project as a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday fix-up-clean-up event for 2018,” said Dr. Levan

Kaiser Permanente has also made community investments in the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, the Abbott Square Grand Opening, 4th of July Fireworks at Watsonville, and the Scotts Valley July 4th Parade.

Here is a list of the most recent grantees:

• Coastal Kids Home Care
• Coastal Watershed Council
• Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County
• Community Bridges
• CruzMed Foundation
• Dientes Community Dental Care
• Family Service Agency of the Central Coast
• First Five Santa Cruz County
• FoodWhat
• Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services
• Life Lab Science Program
• Live Oak School District
• Mind Body Awareness Project
• Motion Pacific Dance
• Pajaro Valley Unified School District
• Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building
• Scotts Valley Educational Foundation
• Teen Kitchen Project
• Warming Center Program
• United Way of Santa Cruz County
• Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County
• Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center
• YMCA Central Coast