UnitedHealthcare Awards $5.2 Million in Grants to California Nonprofits - $2.2 Million to Three Los Angeles-Area Health Organizations

Grants support nine California nonprofit organizations to strengthen youth wellness, care delivery and health technology in underserved communities

Three Los Angeles-area nonprofits have been awarded a total of $2.2 million in grants by UnitedHealthcare to help improve health care services and wellness programs for people in underserved communities.

UnitedHealthcare awarded $2.2 million to three Los Angeles nonprofits to improve health care services for the underserved. The grant presentation was held at Liggett Elementary School in Panorama City, one of 33 schools participating in Northridge Hospital's Obesity and Diabetes Initiative. L-R - Front Row: Bonnie Bailer, director of Center for Healthier Communities, Northridge Hospital Medical Center; Brandon Cuevas, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of California; Nury Martinez, LAUSD board member, Northeast San Fernando Valley; Zev Yaroslavsky, L.A. County supervisor; and Nancy Vallens, principal, Liggett Elementary School. L-R - Back Row: Peter Dale, Public Health Foundation; Mary Franz, Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services; Mark Casanova, executive director, Homeless Health Care Los Angeles; Brian Hammel, president, Northridge Hospital Foundation; and Michael Lehrer, president of board of directors, Homeless Health Care Los Angeles (Photo: Jamie Rector).

These grants are part of $5.2 million UnitedHealthcare is awarding to nine health care organizations to support nonprofit clinics and hospitals that improve health care services for underserved communities statewide.

Homeless Health Care Los Angeles ($241,725), Northridge Hospital Foundation ($662,408) and Public Health Foundation Enterprises ($1.3 million) received the funding to support wellness and medical education programs and improve the delivery of health care services throughout Los Angeles County.

The announcement was made at Liggett Elementary School in Panorama City, one of 33 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) participating in the Northridge Hospital’s School-based Obesity and Diabetes Initiative (SODI). The initiative includes physical education classes for elementary students, healthy-cooking classes for parents, onsite health screening and fitness programs for teachers and staff, and educational workshops on health and wellness. The $662,408 grant will help expand the program in 20 of the participating schools and enable full-time P.E. teachers to work with eight of the schools.

At the grant presentation, community leaders including Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Nury Martinez, LAUSD board member for the Northeast San Fernando Valley, and representatives from the offices of Congressman Tony Cárdenas, state Sen. Fran Pavley and state Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian met with teachers and students, and watched a P.E. teacher lead students in exercises as part of the school’s SODI program.

“It is wonderful to see how public-private partnerships are making a tremendous difference in the lives of our students and their families,” Martinez said. “We thank UnitedHealthcare for supporting this program and its commitment to our community.”

“This generous grant from UnitedHealthcare will increase the number of students, parents and teachers who will benefit from participating in our wellness initiative with LAUSD,” said Saliba Salo, president and CEO, Northridge Hospital Medical Center. “This funding is critical to expanding our wellness and education programs to more underserved communities in the San Fernando Valley.”

Public Health Foundation Enterprises, which received a $1.3 million grant, is working with Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services to improve health care coordination and delivery for underserved people throughout the county via the Los Angeles County Safety Net Health Information Exchange Project. The program is expanding the capability to administer health-related services to a network of community clinics that are served by Public Health Foundation Enterprises.

Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, a nonprofit drug treatment and health services provider, received $241,725 to expand its medical health care services for Los Angeles-area homeless people.

“We are grateful to receive this critical funding that will support the continued development of our health information technology initiatives,” said Nancy Kindelan, CEO, Public Health Foundation Enterprises. “Through these efforts we are able to expand and improve our patient delivery systems and access to care for the community clinics that serve many underserved residents throughout Los Angeles.”

Mark Casanova, executive director of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, said, “UnitedHealthcare’s generous grant will help us advance meaningful and effective systemic strategies for appropriate discharge planning of chronically homeless patients in hospitals and health centers in Southern California.”

“These nonprofit organizations are making a tremendous impact in improving the health of communities in the Los Angeles region and throughout the state,” said Brandon Cuevas, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of California. “UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to work together with them and help enhance the health and quality of life for children, adults and families.”

Since 2008, UnitedHealthcare has provided more than $30 million in grants to 53 nonprofits throughout California. Eleven of them are in Los Angeles, receiving $5.5 million. In addition to these grants, the UnitedHealthcare California Health Care Investment Program has provided $269 million in total investments to 46 health care organizations throughout the state that provide services to underserved, low-income and underinsured communities and populations.

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 2.3 million Californians with a care provider network of 320 hospitals and more than 56,800 physicians statewide.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 780,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,900 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 40 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.

Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130314006452/en/