In the second half of 2019 (June through December), the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York awarded grants totaling more than $1,850,000 to support programs that improve the health of western and central New Yorkers. The grantees for this period are listed here in alphabetical order:
The Adelphi University School of Social Work was awarded a grant of $59,700 to test a pilot expansion of their Social Work Practice Fellows (SWPF) program in partnership with Syracuse University by comparing three models of program delivery. The three models are site/university-based workshops, in-service workshops, and off site/remote workshops. SU hopes to offer the program at SUNY Upstate Medical University where it can reach a large number of social work supervisors at one location.
Ardent Solutions, Inc. was awarded $24,548 to support their Community Health Navigator program at Martin Street Primary Care practice in Wellsville, New York. Through this program, a Community Health Navigator is co-located at the practice and assists patients navigate social determinants of health that may be preventing them from making their health a priority or causing barriers to accessing care, such as housing, food insecurity, lack of insurance and other issues.
The Buffalo City Mission was awarded $250,000 to support a navigator position in its forthcoming Community Center, part of its Next Century Campaign expansion. This position will be responsible for working with each guest on a one-on-one basis to help them receive services such as health insurance and other benefits, linkage to mental health counseling, rescue services within the emergency shelter, and restoration services through its Transitional Housing Program including life skills, case management, education, housing placement and job readiness.
Child Care Solutions, Inc. was awarded a grant for $19,500 for their Talking is Teaching campaign. The grant will allow Child Care Solutions, in partnership with Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga County, to bring Talking is Teaching to homes where children under five are receiving care from registered Family Child Care and other informal or legally exempt providers. Until now, Talking is Teaching has primarily targeted parents as the child’s first and most important teacher. The campaign will be complemented with structured opportunities for additional provider training and opportunities for social interaction for the children.
Community Care Connections was awarded a grant of $225,000 to assist with expanding the program into Genesee County. Community Care Connections was created by Lifespan of Greater Rochester to address an acute need for an integrated care approach for older adults and successfully break down silos between community-based aging services and medical systems of care. The program has achieved measurable positive outcomes by addressing social determinants of health, including decreased hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
Community Connections of New York was awarded a grant of $56,991 to secure training in Nurturing Parenting Programs for the community-based organizations that provide services for the High Fidelity Wraparound Erie County program. The grant will enable CCNY to increase capacity to provide evidence based, in-home parent skill building for those families with children and youth identified as being at risk for abuse and/or neglect. Nurturing Parenting Programs have a track record of achieving positive outcomes including improved family attachment and cohesion and child improvement in social and emotional behavior.
The Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga (ECA) was awarded a grant of $272,410 to support the next phase of Help Me Grow CNY. This phase of Help Me Grow CNY addresses the need for dedicated staff to support childcare and universal pre-k (UPK) providers in identifying children who may have early delays by conducting developmental screening and referral to services.
InterFaith Works of CNY, Inc. (IFW), was awarded a grant of $60,000 to collaborate with key aging services partners to establish the Onondaga County Aging Services Coalition. Through an approach that reflects community priorities, is data-informed, and drives systemic change, the Coalition will gain skills needed to collaboratively strengthen existing interventions and develop new strategies to turn the curve on senior isolation and poverty, so that older adults in Onondaga County are socially connected and age with dignity.
The March of Dimes in partnership with the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County was given a grant of $200,000 for the expansion of the “Interventions to Minimize Preterm & Low Birth Weight Infants through Continuous Improvement Techniques” (IMPLICIT) Project. IMPLICIT utilizes well child visits to screen new mothers of children ages 0 to 2 for health risks with the goal of improving maternal care and positive future pregnancy outcomes.
The Southern Tier Health Care System, Inc. was awarded $165,000 over two years to establish the Safe Kids Southern Tier New York (SKSTNY) Coalition. The goal of the coalition is to provide leadership, evidence-best practices, research, and support/training for child injury prevention, which has been shown to be the number one cause of childhood death in the United States.
The Health Foundation allocated $71,500 to support a third cohort of the StoryGrowing program in western New York in partnership with the John R. Oishei Foundation. The purpose of StoryGrowing is to build the capacity of organizations to effectively communicate to internal and external audiences and tell their story to advance their missions and goals.
Syracuse Housing Authority was awarded a grant of $24,000 to address hoarding for at-risk older adults whose dwellings are not meeting codes because they are unable to maintain a safe and sanitary housing environment. In addition to helping prevent the eviction of these residents, these services will help prevent triggers of decline that are linked to uncleanliness, including isolation and fall risks.
The UB Center for Successful Aging was awarded a grant for $71,690 to support development of their Movers and Makers program. The goal of the community-based program is improving cognition, motor function, and quality of life among older people. This request represents a strong collaboration with the University at Buffalo Center for Successful Aging, Ken-Ton YMCA and Fine Art Miracles.
The Health Foundation allocated $350,000 for universal health care advocacy efforts in 2020. These efforts include funding for Physicians for a National Health Program – NY Metro Chapter to conduct 14 workshops in western and central New York to help residents tell their personal stories related to health care access. Other initiatives include $132,000 to support a CNY Health advocacy and action campaign led by NY Statewide Senior Action Council.
