Silicon Valley health organizations get boost from Kaiser Permanente

Thirty nonprofit organizations in Silicon Valley that provide community health and well-being services will receive a total of $939,000 in Community Benefit grants from Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara and Kaiser Permanente San Jose.

Each year, Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit grants are awarded to local organizations working on programs and projects that align with Kaiser Permanente’s missions and goals. This year the grants focus on four priorities: access to healthcare, behavioral health, healthy eating/active living, and violence prevention.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we believe in prevention for all members of our community regardless of age,” said Chris Boyd, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara. “It’s our Total Health perspective that allows us to impact change beyond our hospital walls.”

For one organization, the Kaiser Permanente grant funds will allow them to be part of a community-based home health pilot.

“We will be able to hire a specially trained nurse to serve as a health navigator for the neediest of seniors,” says Amy Andonian, President and CEO of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center. “The anticipated cost-savings from reduced emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and hospital re-admissions will financially benefit seniors, their families, and the local medical sector alike, freeing up more resources that can better support the needs of our growing older adult population in the years and decades to come.”

For another local group, the grant will allow it to expand its healthy eating program, the Harvest of the Month, to all grade levels at five elementary schools, said Jennifer Toller, Assistant Supervisor of Child Nutrition Services at Campbell Union School District.

“We will be able to reinforce healthy eating habits and expose our students to fresh California grown produce that they otherwise might not have an opportunity to try,” Toller said. “ We are thrilled to be able to give students the skills and experiences that facilitate healthy eating for life!”

Irene Chavez, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente San Jose said, “Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to helping shape the future of Silicon Valley. “Our commitment to care innovation, health education and the support of community health is essential to the advancement of our mission.”

Below is the list of the 2015 South Bay grant recipients:

Organization Name and Project
• Asian Americans for Community Involvement, AACI Patient Navigation Center
• Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center, Community-Based Health Home Project
• Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, Female Athletes Inspiring Active Play and Wellness
• Bill Wilson Center, Centre for Living with Dying
• Campbell Union School District, Harvest of the Month
• Children’s Discovery Museum, CDM Food Guidelines
• Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Institutionalizing Farm to School in Santa Clara Valley
• Community Health Awareness Council, Prevention Plus School Based Interventions
• Community Health Partnerships, Patient Centered Communication
• Community Matters, Safe School Ambassadors
• Discovery Counseling Center, My Discovery
• Eating Disorders Resource Center, Eating Disorders Prevention, Education and Recovery Support
• Family and Children’s Services, Teen Families and Schools Together
• Foothill-De Anza Foundation, Building Upon the Strengths of “At Promise” Children, Youth and Families
• Fresh Approach, Freshest Cargo: Mobile Farmers’ Market
• Girl Scouts of Northern California, Got Choices
• InnVision Shelter Network, Seeking Safety: Group Therapy Interventions
• MayView Community Health Center, Strengthening Care Coordination
• Positive Alternative Recreation Teambuilding Impact, High Impact Program
• Rebekah Children’s Services, Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors
• RotaCare Bay Area, Access to Health Care to Vulnerable Populations in the South Bay
• San Jose Downtown Foundation, Almaden Boulevard Loop Exercise Project
• Santa Clara County Public Health Department, Healthy Teen Relationships Campaign
• School Health Clinics, Patient Navigator
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, Expanding CalFresh Access to Low Income People
• Sunday Friends, Cultivating Violence Prevention in Very Low Income Families
• Sunnyvale Community Services, Nutrition Access and Advocacy
• THINK Together, Healthy Living Program
• Vision to Learn, Santa Clara County Expanded Operation
• YMCA/Project Cornerstone, Creating School and Community Coalitions to Reduce Violence