HELENA - The foundation funded by the 2013 sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana announced its first grants Wednesday for local health departments around the state to identify local health needs.
The Montana Healthcare Foundation will distribute, with the help of state health officials, $1.3 million next year, said CEO Aaron Wernham.
City, county and tribal health departments will use the money to identify health problems and needs and make plans on how to address them, he said.
"It really starts with trying to understand what are the important illnesses within the community," Wernham said. "Then it's a matter of actually sitting down with people in the community ... and deciding, what are we going to do about this?"
The grants will be decided and distributed with the help of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. Wernham said since the foundation is just underway, it's not yet able to administer multiple smaller grants.
Richard Opper, director of DPHHS, said his agency often works with partners and is "delighted" to pair up with the Healthcare Foundation. "Improving the health of every Montanan is really what we are about," he said.
The size of the individual grants will vary, Wernham said, but should be distributed to many public health departments around the state. The foundation also wants future grants to benefit as many segments of the state as possible, he added.
"We're all very determined that this money is going to benefit communities all around the state, and not just go to organizations that may have the best grant writers," Wernham said.
The foundation, headquartered in Bozeman, was created last year in the wake of the sale of Montana Blue Cross to Health Care Service Corp., a Chicago-based health insurance giant.
Under state law, certain proceeds from the sale of a nonprofit health insurer like Blue Cross must finance a foundation that will fund health care programs for the state.
The foundation initially received the $40 million sale price and has accepted another $20 million in sale proceeds. Once some additional assets are sold, the foundation is expected to have a $150 million trust fund.
Wernham said that money will finance $7 million to $8 million a year in grants.
"That's a very sizeable amount of money for a state this size," he said. "It really can make a difference in health."
Wernham, a family practice physician who's also worked in public health, said information gathered through these initial grants also will help the foundation with its long-term planning, identifying health needs and partners it can work with.
HELENA - The foundation funded by the 2013 sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana announced its first grants Wednesday for local health departments around the state to identify local health needs.
The Montana Healthcare Foundation will distribute, with the help of state health officials, $1.3 million next year, said CEO Aaron Wernham.
City, county and tribal health departments will use the money to identify health problems and needs and make plans on how to address them, he said.
"It really starts with trying to understand what are the important illnesses within the community," Wernham said. "Then it's a matter of actually sitting down with people in the community ... and deciding, what are we going to do about this?"
The grants will be decided and distributed with the help of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. Wernham said since the foundation is just underway, it's not yet able to administer multiple smaller grants.
Richard Opper, director of DPHHS, said his agency often works with partners and is "delighted" to pair up with the Healthcare Foundation. "Improving the health of every Montanan is really what we are about," he said.
The size of the individual grants will vary, Wernham said, but should be distributed to many public health departments around the state. The foundation also wants future grants to benefit as many segments of the state as possible, he added.
"We're all very determined that this money is going to benefit communities all around the state, and not just go to organizations that may have the best grant writers," Wernham said.
The foundation, headquartered in Bozeman, was created last year in the wake of the sale of Montana Blue Cross to Health Care Service Corp., a Chicago-based health insurance giant.
Under state law, certain proceeds from the sale of a nonprofit health insurer like Blue Cross must finance a foundation that will fund health care programs for the state.
The foundation initially received the $40 million sale price and has accepted another $20 million in sale proceeds. Once some additional assets are sold, the foundation is expected to have a $150 million trust fund.
Wernham said that money will finance $7 million to $8 million a year in grants.
"That's a very sizeable amount of money for a state this size," he said. "It really can make a difference in health."
Wernham, a family practice physician who's also worked in public health, said information gathered through these initial grants also will help the foundation with its long-term planning, identifying health needs and partners it can work with.
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