Catalyst Fund Awards Grant to Inflammatory Breast Cancer New England Region, Inc.
Posted on 19. Feb, 2010 by ibcneco1 in News, Uncategorized
CONTACT:
Susan Ryan-Vollmar
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation
617.246.2404
susan.ryanvollmar@bcbsma.com
Four community health organizations around the Commonwealth have been awarded capacity building grants from the Catalyst Fund. The funds will be used to purchase an automated electronic defibrillator, professional staff development, and the purchase of computer equipment.
The Catalyst Fund is administered by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and is funded entirely with donations from employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. (The Foundation was founded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in 2001, but is a separate organization with its own board of directors.) Catalyst Fund grants assist with one-time expenses needed to strengthen an organization’s ability to fulfill its mission, or enhance the capability of an organization to respond to a medical emergency.
“The mission of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is to expand access to health care,” said Anya Rader Wallack, Interim President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. “These one-time operating grants to community-based organizations support the heart of that mission.”
The following organizations recently received Catalyst Fund grants:
Geiger Gibson Community Health Center of Dorchester was awarded $1,700 to send its director of nursing for training with the National Center for Quality Assurance. This training will help the community health center, which is participating in a demonstration medical home initiative organized by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, become a patient-centered medical home.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer New England Region of Holbrook was awarded $3,500 to hire a designer to build a website for the organization. The website will be used to disseminate information about inflammatory breast cancer, a rare form of cancer that first presents with relatively benign symptoms, to patients and providers.
Interfaith Social Services of Quincy was awarded $2,250 to purchase an Automated Electronic Defibrillator and train staff in its use..
The Joint Committee for Children’s Health of Holden was awarded $3,500 to purchase four computers, a printer, and all-in-one copier, printer, scanner, and fax machine. This equipment will replace out-dated computers and will allow staff to do onsite outreach and enrollment in public health plans in schools, churches, businesses, and other community sites.
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More about the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation
The mission of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is to expand access to health care. Through grants and policy initiatives, the Foundation works with public and private organizations to broaden health coverage and reduce barriers to care. It focuses on developing measurable and sustainable solutions that benefit uninsured, vulnerable and low-income individuals and families in the Commonwealth, and served as a catalyst for the pioneering Massachusetts health care reform law passed in 2006. The Foundation was founded in 2001 with an initial endowment of $55 million from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; the endowment has since grown to $108 million. The Foundation operates separately from the company and is governed by its own 18-member Board of Directors. It is one of the largest private health philanthropies in New England and in 2007 was awarded the Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement by the Council on Foundations.