Kaiser Permanente Grants $7 Million in 2011 for Community Health in Mid-Atlantic

Funds Supported 191 Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Nonprofits

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, a leading not-for-profit health plan and care provider, announced that its charitable contributions topped $7 million in 2011.

Funds benefited 191 charitable organizations across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Over $7 million in grants and donations were keenly focused on expanding access to health care services for uninsured and underinsured individuals, training future health care professionals through workforce grants, and promoting healthy eating and active living. 

"Kaiser Permanente is committed to working with community partners to affect long-term, sustainable improvements to health," said Maritha Gay, senior director of External Relations, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States. "Making investments in community health demonstrates our deeply rooted commitment to making total health a reality for everyone." 

A few of Kaiser Permanente's key 2011 contributions included:

• $1.5 million in workforce development grants to educate and train future health care professionals. Grantees included: Baltimore City Community College Foundation, Community College of Baltimore County, Howard Community College Educational Foundation, Montgomery College Foundation, Northern Virginia Community College Educational Foundation, Prince George's Community College Foundation, University of the District of Columbia, and the University System of Maryland Foundation on behalf of The Universities at Shady Grove.
• $160,000 to Holy Cross Hospital of Silver Spring, Md., to support Senior Fit, an innovative multi-component exercise program for adults ages 55 and older. The free program removes barriers to senior exercise presented by many fitness facilities. The Senior Fit program offers access to safe exercise classes specifically designed for seniors, according to American College of Sports Medicine guidelines.
• $140,000 to Community Clinic, Inc. of Rockville, Md., and People's Community Health Centers, Inc., of Baltimore, Md., for implementation of ALL PHASE, an initiative that utilizes lost-cost and generic medications and clinical interventions to reduce heart attacks. The program will benefit patients age 55 and older with diabetes and patients age 40-54 at high risk of heart attack and stroke. Implementation will take a team-based approach; the program is comprised of three key components: treatment, psychosocial solutions and patients' personal goals.
• $100,000 to Safe Routes to School National Partnership in support of a regional network project to advocate for and create safe walking and bicycling to and from schools, and in daily life, to improve the health and well-being of America's children and to foster the creation of livable, sustainable communities.
• $100,000 to Capital Area Food Bank of Washington, D.C. and Lorton, Va., to fund the "Healthy Food Access in Action" program. A two-year initiative to increase the distribution of healthy food to low-income communities across the Washington, D.C. metro area.
• $85,000 to Prince William Area Free Clinic, Inc. of Woodbridge, Va., to expand primary medical and adult dental care services to indigent and uninsured residents of Manassas City, Manassas Park, and Prince William County. 
• $22,000 to the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) of Washington, D.C., to support obesity reduction among Washington, D.C. students through implementation of the D.C. Healthy Schools Act.

Beyond partnering with a diverse group of charitable organizations to bring good health to communities it serves, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is also undergoing a robust expansion over the next two years and will open four new multi-specialty facilities and renovate two existing medical centers in Baltimore County, Md., Montgomery County, Md., Prince George's County, Md., Fairfax County, Va., and Washington, D.C.

Information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States Community Benefit programs can be found in the 2010 Community Benefit Annual Report at http://bit.ly/KPMAS2010AnnualReport.

About Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States region, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, provides and coordinates complete health care services for almost 500,000 members through 30 medical office buildings in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, founded in 1980, is a total health organization composed of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., an independent medical group that features approximately 1,000 physicians who provide or arrange care for patients throughout the area.  Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is considered one of Maryland's "Top HMOs," according to the Maryland Health Care Commission.  The health plan was ranked in the nation's 100 top commercial health plans and 15 top Medicare health plans – and the #1 Medicare plan for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. – by the U.S. News & World Report/NCQA's "America's Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10."  For more information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, visit http://www.kp.org/.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States