Strategic Initiatives are driven by the Foundation to enhance our role as a catalyst, convener, listener, educator, leader and funder focused on improving the health of all South Floridians. We take a long-range view of how the health status of residents can be improved and make investments that will do the most good for the greatest number of people. Our Strategic approach targets projects that are achievable, timely and in harmony with our objectives to reach optimal outcomes.

We believe that collaboration is the best medicine for the health care challenges we face. Therefore, strategic grants go toward funding activities that emerge from partnerships formed to solve health issues facing the uninsured and underserved residents in our communities. Our strategic grants are continuously evaluated to assess effectiveness and agilely adjusted as needed.

Strategic initiative grants range from five to seven years in duration. The Foundation allocates approximately $2 million annually in this grant category. The following information will shine some light on a few of our current strategic grant investments.

AFTER-SCHOOL SPARK INITIATIVE
2005-2009

Sports, Play, Active, Recreation for Kids (SPARK) is an evidence-based program aimed at increasing the physical activity levels of participating children in the after-school setting. In 2005, HFSF awarded $351,487 to YMCA/YWCA to implement SPARK in 15 after-school sites. The results of this initial pilot project demonstrated that the overall activity level comparison from baseline to follow-up went from 44.4% MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity) to 59.6% MVPA. This exceeds the Healthy People 2010 goal of 50% MVPA. Sedentary activity level decreased from about 55% to 40% at the outcome measure.

The program also demonstrated increases in the physical fitness measures of participating children. Due to the demonstrated effectiveness of the pilot program, HFSF partnered with The Children’s Trust to expand the SPARK Program into an additional 40 after-school sites. The total amount invested in this initiative is $250,225 with HFSF providing $107,500 for project monitoring and evaluation and The Children’s Trust $142,725 for equipment and training of after-school staff. Through this expansion and continuation project, the Initiative now reaches over 3,000 children in 55 after-school sites.

The Healthy Aging Collaborative of South Florida is a new initiative kicking off this spring.   It is anticipated to last for at least 5 years and be supported with a minimum of $7 million from Health Foundation of South Florida – with other funders adding additional resources.    The initiative’s vision is for large proportions of older South Floridians to participate in low-cost, evidence based health promotion programs and enjoy the resulting benefits of better health, well-being and independence.   Currently, these evidence-based health promotion programs are offered all over the country with remarkable success, but are scarcely offered here in South Florida.  The programs endorsed by the CDC, the National Council on Aging, the Healthy Aging Research Network and the US Administration on Aging address what researchers have concluded to be the top threats to healthy aging: 1) sedentary lifestyle, 2) chronic illness, e.g., diabetes and arthritis, 3) injuries from falls, and 4) depression.  

Initiative Components
* Establish a regional leadership council for healthy aging. 
* Develop a learning and innovation network to function as a coordinating mechanism for the implementation and evaluation of the evidence based health promotion and prevention interventions for older adults.
* Develop, train and support a work force able to implement evidence based health programs to diverse populations in South Florida. 
* Expand the local adoption and sustainability of evidence based health program
* Evaluate and disseminate findings and lessons learned.  

HEALTH CHOICE NETWORK ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS
2007-2010

In December of 2006, HFSF awarded Health Choice Network, Inc. a $500,000 grant to complete the implementation of electronic health records (EHR) in four Miami-Dade community health centers: Miami Beach Community Health Center (MBCHC), Citrus Health Network (Citrus), Helen B. Bentley Community Health Center (HBB), and Camillus Health Concern (CHC). Health Choice Network (HCN) is a community-based, not-for-profit, organization formed in 1994 by community health centers (CHCs) in Miami Dade to provide high quality service, support and expertise to member organizations. HCN member CHCs provide the primary source of healthcare for nearly 111,000 South Florida residents, including the uninsured, underinsured and working poor in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

In today’s competitive health care marketplace, continued investment in health information technology is critical to HCN’s member CHCs’ ability to provide quality healthcare to South Florida’s most vulnerable communities. The three major goals of the project are:

Goal 1: Improve efficiency in the health care delivery system through the complete implementation and utilization of the EHR system among Miami-Dade HCN CHC primary care and dental providers.
Goal 2: Improve compliance with clinical care guidelines that address the treatment of the health disparity collaborative indicators, including diabetes management, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer prevention.
Goal 3: Improve health outcomes for the health disparity collaborative indicators, including diabetes management, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer prevention.

 

ORAL HEALTH STRATEGIC INITIATIVE

Oral disease can affect our ability to eat, how we look, our ability to concentrate and how we feel.  It can impair our ability to work either at home, in a job or in school.  Although nearly everyone will experience oral disease, including tooth decay and gum disease, the majority of the population does not have proper access to oral healthcare.  Minorities, poor children, the elderly and the homeless are especially affected by oral health disparities.  Usually, the lack of insurance is part of the problem. 

The Foundation is set to launch a new strategic initiative to address the oral health needs of South Florida.  This initiative will include a broad array of community partners, including providers, social service agencies, foundations and schools.  The initiative will offer significant new opportunities to provide oral healthcare to the neediest members of our population.  Strategies will include expanding the availability of evidence-based preventive services, increasing oral health awareness, building the treatment capacity of community health centers and clinics and advocating for public policy that will support access to oral health.