The Funding Will Support Diabetes Management, Dental Care and ACEs Screenings
L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, is pleased to announce three new grants totaling $500,000 to support projects that benefit its members and the safety net of health care providers that care for them. The grants also help advance L.A. Care’s commitment to health equity.
The three grants support a variety of needs:
- $250,000 will go to Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Healthcare (MLKCH) to support its Diabetes Management Center of Excellence (DMCE). This program is designed to address the disproportionately high rates of diabetes among resident of South Los Angeles. L.A. Care funding will support a full-time diabetes nurse specialist who provide diabetes-specific care management. It will also help DMCE increase enrollment by 40 percent over two years, which will ultimately help reduce ER visits and hospitalizations.
- $150,000 will go to the Community Health Alliance of Pasadena (ChapCare) to support a Dental Assistance Apprenticeship program. The program is designed to address dental workforce shortages at ChapCare’s three dental clinics in Pasadena and El Monte. L.A. Care funding will help recruit and hire dental apprentices to support dentists, which will help the clinics provide care for at least 650 new patients over an 18-month period. The goal is also for the apprentices to obtain a Dental Assistant Certification that will allow them to continue working in underserved areas.
- $100,000 will go to the Westside Infant-Family Network (WIN) to provide therapy, case management, and social supports for children in families with high Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scores. WIN community health workers will conduct ACEs screenings during well-child visits at its community partner Westside Family Health Center. The screening tool was developed to predict negative mental and physician health in adulthood based on a child’s exposure to adverse experiences. Early screening can lead to an early treatment strategy. Young children who score high will be referred for mental health counseling at the center or at WIN. L.A. Care funding will provide ACEs screenings for 165 new families over two years and will provide case management and clinical therapy sessions for 42 new families each year.
L.A. Care established its Community Health Investment Fund (CHIF) in 2000 to support projects that strengthen community health and fill gaps in health coverage for low-income individuals in Los Angeles County. Since then, it has awarded more than $105 million for more than 800 community-based projects and more than 240 unique community-based clinics and other nonprofit social service organizations. Through CHIF, L.A. Care is proud to offer support to safety net providers, those providers who offer care regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. In supporting safety net providers and community-based organizations, CHIF grants have helped many of its 2.5 million members and the communities where they live.