Kaiser Permanente Awards $860,000 in Grants to Community Organizations in the East Bay

Kaiser Permanente has awarded $860,000 in grants to 57 organizations serving Alameda and Contra Costa counties as part of its annual Community Benefit grants program. The funded programs will address pressing community needs as well as support "safety net" health organizations that provide care to uninsured patients.

"At Kaiser Permanente we are deeply committed to the overall health of our members and of the communities we serve. Through these grants, we are building healthier and safer communities throughout northern Alameda County and western Contra Costa County, reaching underserved communities and those most in need," said Mark Fratzke, Senior Vice President and Area Manager, Kaiser Permanente in the East Bay.

Using data from local cities and counties, an advisory group of physicians, other health providers and medical administrators helped establish a list of some of the community’s most pressing needs. This year’s funding priorities are: 1) addressing community violence; 2) increasing access to affordable healthy food and activities; 3) increasing access to health care; and 4) reducing and mitigating the development of asthma.

Based on these priorities, the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Program awarded 57 grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.

• Brighter Beginnings Family Health Clinic: Extending access to essential healthcare services in the Richmond area by conducting strategic community outreach to recruit patients who lack accessible and affordable healthcare, and enrolling patients in health insurance plans for which they qualify.
• Mindfulness-Based Mental Health Services at Bridge Academy: This project will deliver mindfulness-based mental health services to youth at Oakland's Bridge Academy, a transitional high school for youth coming out of Alameda County juvenile detention, providing them with skills to support their successful re-entry back into their home communities.
• Greenwood Academy Collaboration with the Wright Institute: Providing comprehensive violence impact reduction and prevention services to students and teachers at Richmond’s continuation high school.
• Bay Area Community Services Healthy Independent Living Program: This project encourages healthy living, including healthy eating and active living, within existing permanent housing for homeless individuals with mental health issues.
• Lifelong Medical Care: The Lifelong Asthma Management Project assists low-income asthma patients with resources to manage the condition.

Kaiser Permanente operates two major medical centers in northern Alameda County and western Contra Costa County – in Oakland and Richmond – as well as medical facilities in Alameda and Pinole. In the last five years, the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Program has awarded $4,850,000 in grants to 305 community organizations in northern Alameda County and western Contra Costa County.

Photo caption: The summer garden at Berkeley Youth Alternatives, an organization supported by Kaiser Permanente's Community Benefit program.