Virginia Health Care Foundation

Richmond, Virginia, January 19, 2023 – The Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) has awarded 15 Virginia organizations nearly $1,500,000 in grants to expand behavioral health care and medical care services throughout the state.

“All of these grantees are addressing urgent and ongoing needs,” said Deborah Oswalt, VHCF’s Executive Director. “With the current mental health crisis and a coming recession, it’s critical to ensure all Virginians have access to the care they need.”

A list of the grants awarded by VHCF follows:

Behavioral Health: Each of these organizations is taking a well-planned approach to increasing or maintaining much-needed behavioral health capacity by either hiring pre-licensed behavioral health clinicians or implementing an integrated model of care to seamlessly incorporate behavioral health services into a primary care setting.

• Fredericksburg Christian Health Center (FCHC) was awarded $75,000 to hire a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to provide behavioral health services, supported by an existing case manager. Approximately 40% of FCHC patients have a behavioral health diagnosis.
• Youth For Tomorrow was awarded $75,400 to hire another pre-licensed behavioral health clinician to expand capacity in its Warrenton office with a mix of in-person and tele-behavioral health services. The Warrenton office opened in 2019, with VHCF support.

In addition, the following organizations are heading into their second or third year of a VHCF-funded behavioral health care initiative:

• • Eastern Shore Rural Health System was awarded $74,310 to hire a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner to help implement a new integrated care program.
  • Family Service of Roanoke Valley was awarded $44,550 to hire pre-licensed behavioral health clinicians to expand access to care.
  • Greater Richmond SCAN was awarded $53,573 to hire pre-licensed behavioral health clinicians to expand access to care.
  • Health Brigade was awarded $64,688 to expand its capacity by increasing two key clinical providers– a Medical Director and a tri-lingual Licensed Professional Counselor–from part-time to full-time.
  • Johnson Health Center was awarded $75,585 to expand its behavioral health service capacity by implementing the Collaborative Care Model (CCM), an evidence-based model of providing integrated behavioral health services in a primary care setting.
  • ReadyKids was awarded $43,388 to support a full-time pre-licensed MSW clinician who provides treatment to children and their caregivers who have been victims of crime and/or trauma or who are experiencing a family crisis.
  • Tri-Area Community Health was awarded $58,613 to bring behavioral health services to underserved Patrick County by locating a Licensed Professional Counselor at Patrick County Family Practice, the only primary care practice in the area.
  • Youth for Tomorrow was awarded $53,100 to support one full-time bilingual pre-licensed behavioral health clinician to provide comprehensive behavioral health services for children and adults.

Dental Care Grants: Each of these organizations is working to expand its capacity to provide oral health care in its community.

• Central Virginia Health Services was awarded $100,000 to add dental care to the medical services it provides at two school-based clinics in Petersburg and Hopewell Public Schools.
• Bradley Free Clinic was awarded $26,843 to hire a part-time dental hygienist to expand oral hygiene capacity.
• CrossOver Healthcare Ministry was awarded $70,335 to expand both oral health and prenatal care capacity to provide integrated care to pregnant patients.

Health Care Access: the following grantees are heading into their second or third year of a VHCF-funded initiative to expand primary medical care services.

• Sinclair Health Clinic was awarded $76,560 to support a full-time Nurse Practitioner to expand the clinic’s primary care services and add prenatal care to the clinic’s offerings.
• Tri-Area Community Health was awarded $74,603 to support the salary and benefits for a full-time Nurse Practitioner in its new Grayson County location.

Medicaid/FAMIS Outreach and Enrollment Grants: Each of these 18-month grants enable the grantee organizations to hire trained application assistants in areas of the state with high numbers or rates of uninsured Virginians. They work closely with local schools, medical providers, health departments, childcare providers, faith-based organizations, and businesses to identify and enroll those who are eligible for coverage.

• Martinsville-Henry County Coalition for Health & Wellness: $98,550
• The Health Wagon: $94,279
• Virginia Legal Aid Society: $224,992
• Bradley Free Clinic: $98,550

The Virginia Health Care Foundation is a non-profit public/private partnership with a mission to increase access to primary health care for uninsured and medically underserved Virginians. The Foundation was initiated by the General Assembly and its Joint Commission on Health Care in 1992. Since its inception, it has funded 524 community-based initiatives throughout the Commonwealth. VHCF’s programs and partnerships have touched the lives of more than 800,000 uninsured Virginians.

For more information about VHCF and its programs, visit www.vhcf.org or call (804) 828-5804.

Last Updated on January 20, 2023