Prebys Foundation Awards $8.1M to 18 local clinics to advance quality, culturally competent care

SHARE Initiative aims to close health disparity gaps in San Diego

SAN DIEGO, June 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Conrad Prebys Foundation announced its first set of grants to 18 clinics across the region, totaling $8.1 million as part of the Strengthening Health Access, Resources, and Excellence (SHARE) Initiative.

In April, the Foundation launched the SHARE Initiative, which will provide two-year, unrestricted grants of up to $250,000 per year to health clinics that effectively serve communities needing improved health services – especially Indigenous, immigrant, and border residents. The initiative aims to ensure that excellent, culturally proficient healthcare is accessible to and in underserved communities. Grant recipients can use the funding in whatever way they think will be most effective for their organizations and the communities they serve.

The organizations that received funding provide high-quality medical services to communities in areas with poor health outcomes and diverse populations. This group of clinics, distributed across San Diego County and serving distinct communities with a broad set of services, provides a blanket of access for San Diegans facing the greatest barriers to excellent care.

The organizations awarded grants under the initiative are:

• Alliance Health Clinic - $400,000 to provide primary health care for the low-income, immigrant, and refugee members of the community
• Challenge Center -$500,000 to increase access and quality care for persons with disabilities and the aging population
• CSUSM/Truecare Mobile Clinic Partnership - $300,000 to provide free healthcare services to underserved communities in North San Diego County through a mobile health clinic
• Family Health Centers - $500,000 to increase Care Navigation within the Refugee community
• Fourth Trimester Project, UCSD - $ 300,000 to focus on female reproductive care after delivery
• Indian Health Council - $500,000 to increase access to healthcare within the northern rural area of San Diego
• La Maestra Family Clinic- $500,000 to increase care navigation for chronically ill patients
• Neighborhood Healthcare - $500,000 to increase the quality of healthcare in the El Cajon region
• Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest - $500,000 to increase access to care coordination for health
• San Diego American Indian Health Center - $500,000 to provide access and quality healthcare to American Indian Native Alaskan community members
• San Diego Family Care - $500,000 to expand access by increasing a culturally competent workforce
• San Ysidro Health - $500,000 to increase access along the border and rural communities
• Southern Indian Health Council - $500,000 to increase access for the Indigenous communities in rural San Diego
• Survivors of Torture International - $500,000 to increase access to healthcare for asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrant survivor
• Truecare - $500,000 to increase access to healthcare in North County communities
• UCSD Health - $200,000 to increase access to maternal health for the Refugee community
• UCSD Student-Run Clinic - $400,000 to provide access to free healthcare for uninsured patients
• Vista Community Clinic- $500,000 to provide access and quality care to communities in North County San Diego

"After listening carefully to the community and conducting research into critical health challenges in our region, we know that health outcomes are vastly unequal across San Diego, and historically marginalized and excluded communities bear the burden of this inequity," said Grant Oliphant, Chief Executive Officer of The Conrad Prebys Foundation.

"These grants are designed to provide vital support to organizations that serve patients facing high barriers to excellent care. These organizations often have limited resources to cover gaps in service such as improving cultural and linguistic relevancy, increasing access to the uninsured/underinsured, and recruiting and retaining quality staff," he said.

About the Process:

The foundation utilized an oral application process instead of requiring written forms. Staff then conducted due diligence to minimize the time and energy organizations needed to apply for funding. Grants were awarded in seven weeks, from grant announcement to award notification. The awards are unrestricted to provide maximum flexibility for recipients. The foundation believes flexibility will allow health centers to address community needs directly.

Studies have shown culturally appropriate services improve outcomes, such as better health status, functioning, and satisfaction. Culturally responsive care decreases disparities in healthcare access and quality health outcomes.

For more information on the SHARE initiative, visit: www.prebysfdn.org/shareinitiative

This award is the first initiative launched under the foundation's new community-based approach.

About The Conrad Prebys Foundation

The Conrad Prebys Foundation is the largest private foundation in San Diego County and works to create an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for all San Diegans. The Foundation advances excellence and shared opportunity through investments in groundbreaking institutions, ideas, and people to ensure more San Diegans are financially secure, healthy, empowered, uplifted, and connected. The institutions and systems that serve the region can offer equitable access to opportunity. TCPF invests in four program areas: visual and performing arts, medical research, healthcare, and youth success, and pays attention to the impact of its work on climate, the region's character as a border region, and a robust democracy. For more information, visit www.prebysfdn.org/shareinitiative.

SOURCE The Conrad Prebys Foundation