RELEASE
Michigan Organizations Receive More Than $1,000,000 in Grants to Improve Health Care in Michigan
Brianna Neace
| 3 min read
DETROIT, Feb. 6, 2017— The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation is awarding a total of $1,085,160 to support research and community programs that identify and address critical issues affecting the health of Michigan residents. “These grants will support a wide range of projects that organizations and individuals are working on to improve health care in terms of quality, cost and access,” said Audrey Harvey, vice president and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. “We look forward to seeing how their work impacts the community and inspires other organizations to replicate their efforts.” The grants offered by the Blue Cross Foundation are categorized to allow for a variety of applicants and ideas, including:
- Taking Action on Opioid and Prescription Drug Abuse in Michigan by Supporting Community Responses Initiative: With a shared mission of ending the opioid epidemic in Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, The Michigan Health Endowment Fund, The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and The Superior Health Foundation are jointly allocating $570,400 to provide one-time grants to begin new projects or enhance or expand existing projects aimed at reducing opioid and prescription drug abuse and harm.
- Community Health Matching Programs: Community-based nonprofit organizations in Michigan will use these grants to develop, test or validate new techniques and programs to address the needs of its community members and produce a tangible effect in their lives.
- Physician Investigator Research Award Programs: Michigan physicians will use these grants to conduct pilot projects and/or small research studies to address unmet health needs to improve the delivery and quality of patient care.
- Investigator Initiated Research Award Programs: This program provides researchers employed by universities and hospitals up to $75,000 in grants. The expectation is that that the funding will support getting the researcher’s work published to share among other Michigan researchers and medical professionals to improve the cost and quality of care for Michigan residents.
The BCBSM Foundation gives nearly $2 million each year in grants to research quality, cost and access to health care. The funding spans the state, from the Metro Detroit area to the communities of the Upper Peninsula. None of the money comes from the premium payments of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan members. The BCBSM Foundation was created in 1980 with $800,000 in seed money, which has since grown to approximately $60 million in assets with no further contributions. An overview of the recipients of the BCBSM Foundation grants is below:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSM provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.6 million members residing in Michigan in addition to employees of Michigan-headquartered companies who reside outside the state. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com and MIBluesPerspectives.com.
