Virginia Health Care Foundation http://www.vhcf.org Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:36:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Virginia can’t afford holes in health care safety net http://www.vhcf.org/2012/02/16/virginia-cant-afford-holes-in-health-care-safety-net/ http://www.vhcf.org/2012/02/16/virginia-cant-afford-holes-in-health-care-safety-net/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:24:12 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=4019 “The commonwealth’s contribution of a tiny fraction of the budget to the safety net is one of the best investments we make with our public dollars. Donations to free clinics support more than 14,000 volunteer health care workers, resulting in $6 of care for uninsured and underinsured Virginians for every dollar spent.

“The Virginia Health Care Foundation has a 20-year record of leveraging every dollar into $11 in cash, health services, and other in-kind contributions. Nationwide, it is estimated that community health centers in rural and underserved areas save billions in health costs.

“In the uncertain environment surrounding heath care today, the legislature should keep the safety net intact. As budget writers meet to consider the budget for the upcoming biennium, a top priority should be preserving funding for free clinics, community health centers and the Virginia Health Care Foundation. People’s lives are depending on it.”

Read the entire Richmond Times Dispatch opinion piece by Richard Cullen,  the chairman of McGuireWoods LLP and a former attorney general of Virginia.

The call to preserve funding for the health safety net has been heard statewide and has been recently covered in the Lynchburg News and Advance, the Roanoke Times, Roanoke’s WDBJ-7 and on Roanoke public radio  news, among others.

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2012/02/16/virginia-cant-afford-holes-in-health-care-safety-net/feed/ 0 Vital Signs – Fall 2011 Edition http://www.vhcf.org/2011/09/08/vital-signs-fall-2011-edition/ http://www.vhcf.org/2011/09/08/vital-signs-fall-2011-edition/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:02:53 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=3694 Find out about important new educational programs and other recent VHCF developments by reading the Fall 2011 edition of VHCF’s Vital Signs

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2011/09/08/vital-signs-fall-2011-edition/feed/ 0 VHCF expands oral health services via VDAF’s Mission of Mercy http://www.vhcf.org/2011/07/21/vhcf-expands-oral-health-services-via-vdaf%e2%80%99s-mission-of-mercy/ http://www.vhcf.org/2011/07/21/vhcf-expands-oral-health-services-via-vdaf%e2%80%99s-mission-of-mercy/#comments Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:35:30 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=3668 In response to the significant and growing need for dental services for uninsured adults in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) announced a special $100,000 initiative in partnership with the Virginia Dental Association Foundation (VDAF) to expand oral health services delivered through VDAF’s Mission of Mercy (MOM) projects. This multi-pronged initiative will help underwrite MOM projects in six new Virginia communities over the next three years; upgrade equipment, which will improve services at MOMs; and pilot an innovative, low-cost denture product that will make 100 denture units available to 50-75 people at the July 2011 MOM project in Wise County. Read more about the VHCF MOM Project Dental Initiative

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2011/07/21/vhcf-expands-oral-health-services-via-vdaf%e2%80%99s-mission-of-mercy/feed/ 0 Virginia Health Care Foundation Commits Nearly $1.5 Million to Improve and Expand Health Care for the Uninsured http://www.vhcf.org/2011/07/05/virginia-health-care-foundation-commits-additional-1-5-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/ http://www.vhcf.org/2011/07/05/virginia-health-care-foundation-commits-additional-1-5-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:13:41 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=3573 RICHMOND, Virginia – July 1, 2011 — In an effort to meet the ever-increasing need for health care within the Commonwealth, the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) announced awards of almost $1.5 million in grants to free clinics, community health centers and other health safety net organizations throughout Virginia.  Due to the lack of substantial economic improvement and growth in the job market, many of those who lost their health insurance at the onset of the recession remain without coverage.  The VHCF grants are enabling safety net providers statewide provide medical, dental and mental health care, prescription medication access and child health insurance enrollment.

Recipients of the VHCF funding include the Blue Ridge Medical Center, Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Orange County Free Clinic, Love of Jesus Health Clinic, CrossOver Health Clinic, Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Free Clinic of the New River Valley, Center for High Blood Pressure, Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic, Central Virginia Health Services, Greater Prince William Area Community Health Center, Free Clinic of Central Virginia, INOVA Partnership for Healthier Kids, Cumberland Plateau Health District, Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, The Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project, Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Fan Free Clinic, and the Virginia Treatment Center for Children.  Read more about VHCF’s latest grants and grantees.

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2011/07/05/virginia-health-care-foundation-commits-additional-1-5-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/feed/ 0 VHCF Announces 2011 Heroes in Health Care Awards http://www.vhcf.org/2011/06/16/vhcf-announces-2011-heroes-in-health-care-awards/ http://www.vhcf.org/2011/06/16/vhcf-announces-2011-heroes-in-health-care-awards/#comments Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:03:11 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=3533 Governor Bob McDonnell joined the Virginia Health Care Foundation in recognizing the contributions of VHCF’s valuable public and private sector partners and the behind the scenes “heroes.” These organizations and individuals work to make medical, dental and mental health care, child health insurance and prescription medications available to Virginia’s uninsured.  Read more about the winners of the Virginia Health Care Foundation 2011 Heroes in Health Care Awards

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2011/06/16/vhcf-announces-2011-heroes-in-health-care-awards/feed/ 0 Vital Signs – Spring 2011 http://www.vhcf.org/2011/04/07/vital-signs-spring-2011/ http://www.vhcf.org/2011/04/07/vital-signs-spring-2011/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 23:18:44 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=3392 Get the latest news about VHCF, its grantees, and the Virginia Health Safety Net. Read the Spring 2011 edition of VHCF’s e-newsletter, Vital Signs.

In this edition, discover:

  • Leading Change in the Health Safety Net — an upcoming symposium for those in the health care safety net
  • The Virginia Atlas of Community Health — the highlighted “website of the quarter” and an invaluable tool for all Virginia health care safety net providers
  • 2011 Health Safety Net Legislative Day – an overview of this year’s very successful event
  • Access Now and Project CARE — the subjects of this quarter’s Grantee Spotlight

Plus, you’ll meet VHCF’s new Dental Opportunities Coordinator, learn about Cover the Uninsured Week, and get the schedules for VHCF’s educational outreach programs, including TPC Roundtables and training sessions, Nurse Practitioner Roundtables, Tooth Talk, and a MOM workshop (Missions of Mercy).

Never miss an issue. Sign up for Vital Signs.

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2011/04/07/vital-signs-spring-2011/feed/ 0 VHCF Commits over $1 Million to Improve and Expand Health Care for the Uninsured http://www.vhcf.org/2011/01/12/vhcf-commits-over-1-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/ http://www.vhcf.org/2011/01/12/vhcf-commits-over-1-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:03:25 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=3154 From bricks and mortar in Harrisonburg to new medical, dental and pharmacy staff at sites statewide, the new grants VHCF awarded in January will help nearly 20 health safety net organizations expand the ability for uninsured and low-income Virginians to get the medical, dental and mental health care they need.  The more than $1 million in funding will also support further efforts to enroll eligible uninsured Virginia children in Virginia’s state-sponsored health insurance programs.  Read Full Press Release

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2011/01/12/vhcf-commits-over-1-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/feed/ 0 VHCF Commits $1.5 Million to Improve and Expand Health Care for the Uninsured http://www.vhcf.org/2010/07/22/vhcf-commits-1-5-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/ http://www.vhcf.org/2010/07/22/vhcf-commits-1-5-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:24:13 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=1242 RICHMOND, Virginia – With a major focus on alleviating lengthy waiting times experienced by the tremendous number of uninsured patients seeking medical care at Virginia’s free clinics, community health centers, and other health safety net providers, the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) announces $1,515,425 in grant funds awarded to 18 health safety net organizations across the state. The funds underwrite projects that will develop or greatly expand patient capacity in the health safety net, provide a broader scope of health services to uninsured and low-income patients, and expand child health insurance outreach and enrollment initiatives in some of the most medically underserved areas of the Commonwealth.

“Virginia’s health safety net organizations are bursting at the seams with new patients, and at current staffing levels, they aren’t able to handle them all,” said Debbie Oswalt, Executive Director. “Because of the influx, thousands of sick uninsured Virginians are turned away every month, many with serious chronic illnesses. They can’t wait for the economy to improve – or until 2014, when they will be eligible for health insurance under federal health reform. They need health care now.”

Recent data provided by Virginia’s health safety net organizations indicate that, despite sporadic indicators of small improvements in the economy, fallout from the recession continues to negatively impact those Virginians who lost health insurance and/or jobs over the last 18 months.

]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2010/07/22/vhcf-commits-1-5-million-to-improve-and-expand-health-care-for-the-uninsured/feed/ 0 VHCF Announces New Trustees, Officers http://www.vhcf.org/2010/07/19/vhcf-announces-new-trustees-officers/ http://www.vhcf.org/2010/07/19/vhcf-announces-new-trustees-officers/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:30:43 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=1247 Three new trustees have been elected to the VHCF Board, each serving for a three-year term effective July 1, 2010.  The new trustees are:

  • Lawrence E. Blanchard, III, MD (Richmond), a managing partner with Dermatology Associates of Virginia
  • Mark Clark, MD, MPH (Hampton), cardiologist with Riverside Heart Specialists.
  • William C. Mims (Richmond), Justice, Virginia Supreme Court.
]]> http://www.vhcf.org/2010/07/19/vhcf-announces-new-trustees-officers/feed/ 0 VHCF expands support of Virginia health safety net http://www.vhcf.org/2010/01/04/vhcf-expands-support-of-virginia-health-safety-net/ http://www.vhcf.org/2010/01/04/vhcf-expands-support-of-virginia-health-safety-net/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:37:25 +0000 admin http://www.vhcf.org/?p=1369 Link:  Virginia Health Care Foundation Commits $1 Million for Health Care for the Uninsured

Related story:  Health Safety Net Groups Get $1 Million

March 21, 2010, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Responding to the record-breaking numbers of uninsured patients seeking medical attention from Virginia’s already burdened health safety net providers, the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) announced immediate relief in the form of grants totaling $1,025,000 to 14 health safety net organizations across the state.

The funds underwrite a broad array of projects that will establish, expand or enhance the delivery of basic medical, dental and mental health services for uninsured Virginians; increase access to free prescription medicines; and launch a child health insurance outreach and enrollment initiative in rural Southside Virginia, where unemployment rates are among the highest in the state.

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