Kaiser Permanente grants $1-mil to local community health groups

                Grants from Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose and Santa Clara med centers ensure health

                Kaiser Permanente’s long-standing Community Benefit program awarded grants of more than $1-million to 27 health-oriented non-profit organizations in the Silicon Valley. The grants came from Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose and Santa Clara Medical Centers in Santa Clara County.

                The grants are focused on preventing childhood- and adult obesity, developing programs to prevent violence, especially in the schools, and providing access to health care.

                “Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of the communities where we work,” said Irene Chavez, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose Medical Center.

                One of grants from Chavez’ San Jose Medical Center goes to the YWCA of the Silicon Valley, to support and enhance a Child Abuse Prevention Program, which  delivers school-based workshops aimed at keeping kids safe from sexual abuse.

                The individual grants range from $11,000 to $50,000, and the organization requests were reviewed by healthcare executives at both Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in the Silicon Valley.

                A new grantee this year is a health project at the Tech Museum of Innovation.  Children and adults will soon be able to create a mobile “app” to measure and improve healthy living. Kaiser Permanente’s Digital Health Technology Group will be co-funding and advising on the design.

                “This is a splendid example of Kaiser Permanente bringing its technological expertise to the community,” said Chris Boyd, Senior Vice President and Area Manager for the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center.  “With half of smartphone owners using their phones to get health information, Kaiser Permanente is making it easier and convenient to manage their health”.             

Other organizations receiving grants from the two Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Santa Clara County include The Alum Rock Counseling Center, The Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, the Gardner Family Health Network, and Breathe California of the Bay Area.

                In Northern California, Kaiser Permanente has awarded more than $800 million in Community Benefit Grants, and nationally, nearly $2-billion to non-profit, community-health based organizations.