Susan Johnson, Regional Director for the United States Department of Health & Human Services, was recently able to visit the Spokane area.  She used this opportunity to visit the Spokane Reservation, seeing (and tasting!) the scratch cooking program that has been implemented at the Wellpinit Middle and High School.  She was also able to meet with members of the Empire Health Foundation Board, and members of the Regional Health Improvement Collaborative (RHIC) to learn about their goals of better health and wellness for the population through improved coordination, integration and collaboration.  

Click here to read Susan's March newsletter and see pictures from her visit.

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Washington State is one of the few states in the nation leading the way to implement a state-supported, privately run Health Benefit Exchange that will launch an open enrollment starting October 2013 [http://wahbexchange.org]. Washington’s new Health Benefit Exchange is looking for lead organizations to subcontract with many local organizations to form an in-person assistance system of navigators in eastern Washington to ensure that everyone has access to affordable health care [RFP attached].  These subcontractors will receive some reimbursement to partially offset the cost of providing these services.

You are receiving this communication because we know you care about how well this works. We want to make sure that your organization and the people you serve are plugged into this opportunity to make our community a better place to live and work because they are connected to care and healthy!

Through its participation in the Eastern Washington Regional Health Improvement Collaborative (RHIC), Empire Health Foundation has been asked by local leaders to be the lead organization for multiple counties to contract with the Health Benefit Exchange in our region to make it possible for a wide net of organizations to participate (many of whom are already EHF grantees). In this role, we will help subcontractors with cash flow and start-up technical assistance and design an outreach plan because it is aligned with our purpose and we are in a unique position to co-create a home grown solution with you. To make this work, key partners are Community Minded Enterprises and Community Choice, who have a two decade track record of doing this kind of work. We also know that it is important to seamlessly link in insurance brokerages and other trusted advisors to employers.

Empire Health Foundation’s application is due to the Health Benefit Exchange by April 22, 2013. Honestly, this means we are in a dead run to write a competitive local application that can outshine non-local applications. Let us know if you’re in by calling or e-mailing Brian Myers by April 5^th. He can be reached at brian@empirehealthfoundation.org or (509) 315-7021.

I’ve worked in health care in Washington State for thirty years, and I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something this meaningful the right way, and positively impact the health of so many people in eastern Washington. I’m in - and I hope you’ll jump in with both feet.

Very relevant and interesting article published by The Spokesman Review: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/mar/10/large-dose-of-reform/

Truly,

Kristen West, Vice President

Empire Health Foundation

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Empire Health Foundation is  pleased to announce the new board members and new officers elected to the Empire Health Foundation board of directors appointed during the May 2012 board annual meeting.

The officers include: Chair, Garman E. Lutz, CPA - VP Operations - Community Link Consulting; Vice Chair, Sue Lani Madsen, Architect, The Madsen Group; Secretary, Anne Cowles, Mobius Spokane board of directors; Treasurer, Matthew Layton, MD, Ph.D., Program Director, University of WA. 

The following new members were elected to the board: Craig Dias, Vice President and General Manager at Haskins Steel Co., Inc. who was recently named as the mid-size Manufacturing Executive of the Year at the third annual Washington Manufacturing Awards. Todd Koyama, CFP®, Vice President of Private Banking at Washington Trust Bank; Past Chair, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane; and Gonzaga Alumni Mentor Program is the second new board member. 

For more information, please read the press release. 

Empire Health Foundation, in partnership with Community Health Network of Washington, Washington Community Action Network, Northwest Health Law Advocates, and the Children's Alliance commissioned a study by the Urban Institute to analyze the viability of the federal Basic Health Option. The study found that more than 160,000 Washington residents would be eligible for the program, with almost 14,000 living in Eastern Washington. While actual take-up rates are projected to be slightly less, the results show that this will provide coverage for both urban and rural residents of the state.

Click here to read the key findings report [pdf]

Click here to read the full press release [pdf]

Grant Writer Assistance Fund

The Capacity Building Program at Empire Health Foundation (EHF) would like you to be aware of its Grant Writer Assistance Fund. In today’s economic climate, funders are requesting that organizations collaborate on grant proposals in order to expand both the reach of the investment and its impact. EHF understands that relationship building, proposal development, and grant writing take time. Many organizations do not have a designated grant writer or do not have the flexible funds available to hire a professional grant writer.

In an effort to assist Inland Northwest organizations collaborate and improve health outcomes, while remaining competitive in attracting resources to Eastern Washington, EHF announces the availability of funds to utilize the services of professional grant writers. This announcement is open as long as funds are available through November 30, 2012.

Please visit our Capacity Building page for more information on this grant, including how to apply.

*  School districts move to healthy scratch cooking featured

*  Grantmakers in Health Grant Writing Assistance award 

In 2011, EHF awarded a $30,000 grant to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to build grant writing capacity in the department to more effectively pursue national funding opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act.  The award was made possible in large part by a matching grant from Grantmakers in Health in sponsorship by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  EHF and DOH collaborated on preparing the matching grant proposal, which DOH successfully utilized to land a Community Transformation Grant of ~$3.2 million.   This year in 2012, EHF was again awarded an additional GIH matching grant with which the foundation will partner with the HCA and other state agencies in several new exciting opportunities.

*  Our leverage effect

On top of the $1.5 million in direct grants in 2011, the EHF team invested approximately $150,000 in seed funds (for grant writing and local matching funds) and staff time to help bring in over $1 million additional grant funds to the 7 counties, as well as a total of over $4 million to the state. We have worked hard to build strong relationships and collaborate with other funders.

*  Focus on Underserved Communities

As an example of that leverage, EHF granted about 10% ($160,000) of its grant budget to underserved communities such as tribes.  We also helped collaborative partners bring an additional $530,000 in out of the region funding to those communities, which is the equivalent of 40% of our direct grants budget.