Health Fund Fact Sheet

Endowed in 1986 by the Kansas West Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Health Fund is charged with advancing health, healing, and wholeness throughout Kansas. The foundation awards grants totaling more than $3 million each year and has invested close to $48 million in the health of Kansans since it was founded. Grants have supported a wide variety of health-related projects over the years, and since 2003 have focused on three important health issues: oral health, access to healthcare, and healthy lifestyles through physical activity and nutrition. This fact sheet has been prepared to provide an overview of the Health Fund’s current work in its three areas of focus.

Oral Health

Total grants: 244 grants totaling $7,986,086

A few of the efforts supported by oral health grants since the Healthy Teeth for Kansans initiative started in 1998 include the following:

• Community Water Fluoridation for Newton, Kanopolis, Hiawatha, Hesston, Leavenworth, Stockton, Wamego, Maize, Garden City, and rural water districts in Woodson and Pottawatomie counties
• Dental Clinic start-up or expansion for 17 primary care clinics including those in Salina, Wichita, Topeka, Pittsburg, Olathe, Kansas City, Emporia, Lawrence, Hutchinson, Great Bend, and Junction City
• Regional Dental Hub and spoke development through the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved
• Dental hygiene education program start-up in Colby and Pittsburg and expansion in Wichita
• Kansas Mission of Mercy start-up and support including food service and six exit surveys
• Oral Health Kansas coalition start-up and project support including Dental Champions leadership program
• Office of Oral Health re-establishment at Kansas Department of Health and Environment
• Advanced Education in General Dentistry program implementation in Wichita
• Continuing education on oral health for dental and medical professionals
• Statewide information campaign Your Mouth Matters through Kansas Action for Children
• Extended Practice Permit Hygiene projects for the frail elderly and children
• Community prevention programs including training and equipping 90 school and public health nurses to conduct oral health screenings
• Dental sealants for more than 9,000 children in 40 Kansas communities
• Access to dental care for special populations including the developmentally disabled and persons living with HIV/AIDS

Access to Healthcare

Total grants: 171 grants totaling $10,777,740

Coming from the sale of a hospital founded and supported by the United Methodist Church, access to healthcare is at the root of the Health Fund and was the focus of many of the first grants awarded by the Health Fund. A few examples of grants to improve access to healthcare in Kansas follow:

• Safety net clinic start-up, enhancement, and expansion in 12 communities
• Medicare certified hospice network development statewide
• Caring Program for Children sponsorship with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas
• Covering the Uninsured sponsorship in Kansas
• School-based clinic start-up in Wichita
• Prescription drug assistance including development of a nonprofit pharmacy, Medicare Part D enrollment education, and expanded safety-net clinic pharmacy programs
• 100,000 Lives Campaign implementation in Kansas through the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care
• Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved capacity building
• Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative pilot program implementation and evaluation
• Rural stroke project start-up and expansion
• Access to healthcare planning in Sedgwick and Montgomery counties
• Access to specialists in Sedgwick, McPherson, and Shawnee counties
• Nursing education expansion and enhancement
• Workforce planning for nursing and family physicians
• Insurance coverage updates through Kansas Health Institute
• Kansas Health Consumer Coalition start-up and support
• Faith coalition on health care reform (Kansas Faith Alliance for Health Reform) organization and development
• Numerous surveys, studies, and information sharing projects including Playing by the Rules but Losing: How Medical Debt Threatens Kansans’ Healthcare Access and Financial Security, Losing Ground: Eroding Health Insurance Coverage Leaves Kansas Farmers with Medical Debt, Reinsurance and State Health Reform, and Kansas—Pricing the Roadmap to Health Insurance Reform Options

Healthy Lifestyles

Total grants: 132 grants totaling $2,485,035

Recognizing personal daily choices around physical activity and nutrition create the foundation for health and wellness, Health Fund trustees committed to focusing funding in this area in 2003. Grants have targeted improvements in places where people live, work, play, and worship to model and encourage healthy choices.

• Healthy Congregations in Action pilot implementation and evaluation in 27 churches to build the capacity of faith communities to deliver health ministry
• Child care education and enhancement for improved physical activity and nutrition in child care settings statewide through Kansas Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
• Curricula development on early childhood physical activity and nutrition
• Social marketing through Kansas Nutrition Network for improved nutrition Pick A Better Snack and Moove to Lowfat Dairy
• Wellness center establishment and expansion including those for persons with severe mental illness
• Safety net clinic wellness programs start-up for patients and staff in six centers
• Parish nursing start-up and expansion in numerous faith communities
• Parent health literacy development and implementation through Kansas Head Start Association
• Governor’s Fitness Council support
• Healthy Congregations for Kansas United Methodist Churches development and support including annual recognition program, learning retreat, and grants for implementing health ministry
• Education campaigns aimed at high-risk groups such as minorities
• School-based program replication in five Kansas communities
• Self-care Workshop development and dissemination in partnership with the KU School of Medicine, Wichita, to encourage commitment to a covenant of health and healthy behaviors

November 2007