BCBSOK awards $880K in annual Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grants

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) awarded $880,000 in Healthy Kids, Healthy Families (HKHF) grants to 20 nonprofits addressing mental health, economic opportunity and social determinants of health across Oklahoma.

HKHF grants are part of BCBSOK‚s ongoing commitment to support nonprofit organizations that provide health-related services with proven sustainable and measurable programs in five key areas: nutrition, physical activity, preventing/managing disease, supporting safe environments and economic opportunity, a recent addition to the areas of focus.

“As our state continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19, we‚ve witnessed how a lack of financial resources and access to opportunities can negatively impact the overall health of families and individuals,” said Stephania Grober, BCBSOK president. “The recipients of our Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grants have designed purposeful, innovative programs that will make a significant difference in the lives of Oklahomans, now and in the future.”

The 2022 grantees are:

• Brendon McLarty Memorial Foundation: to support the “A Better Chance to Breathe’ program to supply inhalers and spacers for a select group of rural school districts in Oklahoma. The Foundation‚s goal is for Oklahoma to lead the nation and become the first state to implement stock inhalers and training in every school district in the state, as recently mandated by state law.

 

• Caddo Kiowa Technology Center: to support efforts to train students to work in the health career industry as an LPN, CNA, or phlebotomist with the certifications/licensures they can obtainonce completing the programs.

• Children‚s Medical Research, Inc.: to support the Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) team at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center (OUHSC) by offering a specialized training program about PPC. The training will facilitate the ability to collaborate, help organize and identify necessary care providers and care strategies for families of critically ill children.

 

• Community Health Centers, Inc.: to hire a multilingual case worker to support the Afghan refugees who have arrived in the Oklahoma City area through the resettlement program. In addition, the grant will help create age-appropriate and culturally sensitive educational material in Pashto and Dari focused on parents, pregnancy education, well-child visits, and common pediatric illnesses.

 

• Dale Rogers Training Center: to support clients transitioning to the Community Integrated Employment (CIE) program. The grant will allow key stakeholders to be trained in the Powerful Tools for Caregivers curriculum and support families by giving them a toolkit of resources needed to complete the academy.

 

• Latino Community Development Agency, Inc.: investment in the Clínica de la Mujer Latina program, which offers breast and cervical cancer education, screening, referrals, and comprehensive patient navigation for Hispanic women in Central Oklahoma.

 

• Leadership Tulsa: support for capacity-building projects with Tulsa-area nonprofit organizations working to improve the health and wellness of children, selected through an application process.

 

• Logan Community Services: investment intechnology to support juvenile shelter residents to improve educational deficiencies through counseling, health screenings, and mentorship. In partnership with Guthrie Public Schools, the residents complete classwork remotely to catch up and return to school at a grade level that corresponds with their age.

• March of Dimes, Inc.: funding to provide implicit bias training to maternal health providers across the state. The program is focused on reducing disparities in maternal and infant health.

• NAMI Oklahoma: investment in the ‘Meet Little Monster’ coloring and mental health activity book created for young children to express and explore their feelings in a fun, creative and empowering way, as well as to help foster dialogue between children and the safe adults in their lives. The book is available in English and Spanish for families, organizations, teachers, and young people across Oklahoma at no cost.

• NewView Oklahoma- More Opportunities Through Vocational Evaluation (MOVE) for Low Vision Individuals: to support enrollment of more clients into the MOVE program at NewView Oklahoma. MOVE is a way to offer practical assistance to blind adults of all ages who want to enter the workforce and live independently but need tools and modifications to do so.

• Oklahoma Future Farmers of America Foundation: investment in FFA chapter activities that promote the health and wellness of Oklahomans. Grants are available to chapters in communities with fewer than 50,000 people and located more than 15 miles from an urban city (population 50k+).

• Oklahoma Center forNonprofits: investment in OKCNP’s new headquarters will provide shared working space for nonprofit professionals from across the state, including utilizing cutting-edge technology.

 

• Parkside Psychiatric Hospital & Clinic, Inc: funding to support the launch of a 15-bed specialized treatment program for adolescents diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder.

 

• River Parks Foundation: investment in development of the signature trail, Gateway Family Skills Trail, is complementary to the newly constructed Turkey Mountain network and further supports the implementation of the Turkey Mountain Master Plan.

 

• SSM Health St. Anthony Foundation: support for Oklahoma City’s first Mobile Street Medicine Team that will take general medical servicesand behavioral health treatment to individuals experiencing homelessness or recently sheltered who otherwise have no access to brick-and-mortar healthcare providers except for a possible emergency room visit.

 

• Tulsa Regional Chamber: investment in the Tulsa’s Future: Acceleration program, which will capitalize on the current momentumasTulsaseeks to diversify its economy through targeted business attraction activities while enhancing business retention and expansion efforts of the region’s workforce through workforce development and talent attraction initiatives.

 

• University of Tulsa: investment in the Tulsa Albert Schweitzer Fellowship program, which trains health leaders with the skills, networks, andconfidence to improve the health status of underserved populations and work towards health equity in the community for the long haul.

• Variety Care Foundation: investment in a pilot project to improve health outcomes for marginalized pregnant women and their newborn children by utilizing a Community Health Worker to conduct care management activities.

• Western Oklahoma Family Care Center, Inc.: support the maternal health program re-launch at the HOPE Medical Clinic in Elk City. The program is working with local doctors and nurse practitioners to implement a broader spectrum of medical care for patients, including women’s health and diabetic patients.