GE Foundation Announces $500,000 Grant to Community Health Centers, Inc. in Salt Lake City
May 5, 2011 7:00 PM ET
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GE donates $500,000 as Utah charitable clinics face uncertain future
| (3BL Media / theCSRfeed) SALT LAKE CITY - May 5, 2011 - Working toward its stated goals of quality and affordable health care just became a bit easier today for Community Health Center Inc. as it received a $500,000 grant from the GE Foundation - the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company. The GE Foundation provided the grant as part of the GE Developing HealthTM program, which provides funding and GE employee volunteer support to non-profit health centers across the United States. The grant to the Salt Lake City community will support Community Health Centers, Inc.’s Oquirrh View and Central City locations and the centers’ parenting, pre-natal care and literacy work. Developing Health is a three-year, $50 million GE program that aims to help improve access to primary care in targeted underserved communities across the United States. The program aligns with GE’s healthymagination initiative, a commitment to reduce costs, improve quality and increase access in healthcare. “We are pleased to support the great work of Community Health Centers as it provides creative and effective programming for those in need – including mothers and children – in the Salt Lake City community,” said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO, GE. “GE is committed to providing resources through grant and GE volunteering that support health services to the underserved and uninsured in communities all across the United States.” “Since 1979 the Community Health Centers has provided comprehensive and affordable healthcare to our clients. This grant from the GE Foundation will help CHC support our existing services and efforts to improve health outcomes for the people we serve,” said Dexter Pearce, executive director of the Community Health Centers, Inc. “It couldn’t come at a better time as the number of clients in need of our services continues to increase.” “I am proud of the strides Utah has made in the past several years to expand access to and choice in health coverage through our reform efforts and the creation of the Utah Health Exchange,” said Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert. “Even with the success we’ve seen, we recognize that there are still many people in the Salt Lake Valley in need of primary care services. I applaud Community Health Centers for their commitment to our underserved populations, and I applaud GE and its employees for their commitment to support Community Health Centers with their means and management expertise.” The GE Foundation grant will assist an already at-capacity CHC in continuing to effectively serve its large population of mothers and children in need. CHC sees roughly 31,000 low-income clients per year. A sizeable GE employee volunteer program accompanies the grant. GE’s Salt Lake City area Affinity Networks will work closely to assess and manage skill-based support and best practice sharing at Oquirrh View. In addition to any site rehabilitation at the clinics, the GE teams and clinic staff will focus on business-based process improvements and other value-added skills to benefit patients and workflows. Developing Health is a partnership between GE Corporate Citizenship and the GE Corporate Diversity Council. The program was launched in New York City in October 2009, and has since expanded to Milwaukee, Houston, Cincinnati, Louisville, New Orleans, Atlanta, Erie, Fairfield County, Baltimore, Schenectady, Greenville, and now Salt Lake City. The Developing Health program builds on the success of GE’s existing Developing Health GloballyTM (DHG) program. Launched in Africa in 2004, this philanthropic program now extends to 14 countries across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. DHG aims to improve healthcare for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. DHG uses GE’s core competencies including technology, expertise and employee engagement to provide sustainable “enterprise solutions” that address some of the critical gaps that exist in developing-world healthcare facilities. Community Health Centers, Inc. Community Health Centers, Inc. (CHC) is a private, non-profit charitable 501(c)(3) organization, providing affordable, high-quality primary health care, dental, mental health and pharmaceutical services. CHC is a safety net provider of primary health care to Salt Lake County's uninsured, low-income families. From its simple roots as a "free clinic” in 1979 it has grown to four health clinics and two dental clinics in Salt Lake County, Utah and a rural farm worker clinic in Box Elder County, Utah. The CHC network of clinics employs 20 physicians, 7 physician assistants (PA-C), 2 family nurse practitioners, 58 medical assistants, 5 dentists, 6 dental assistants and administrative and billing staff. About the GE Foundation The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, works to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems. In coordination with its partners, it supports U.S. and international education, developing health globally, the environment, public policy, human rights and disaster relief. In addition, the GE Foundation supports GE employee and retiree giving and involvement in GE communities around the world. In 2010, the entire GE family — including businesses, employees, retirees and the GE Foundation — contributed more than $250 million in cash, products, and services to charitable organizations around the world. For more information, visit www.gefoundation.com. About GE GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at ge.com. Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Healthymagination is a $6 billion commitment that was launched in May 2009. |
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Federal stimulus money and large private gifts — including $500,000 announced Tuesday by the GE Foundation — have fueled improvements, expansions and extended hours at many of the state’s 11 federally qualified health centers. Even standalone operations that subsist on volunteer labor are financing remodels to meet growing patient loads.
But this could be the peak year for charitable clinics, which face an uncertain future.
“Health centers are asking, what is their future role? We’re not here to compete, but to fill gaps in the health care system,” and those gaps are changing if not narrowing, said Alan Pruhs, associate director of the Association for Utah Community Health.
To continue reading about GE’s grant to Utah’s Health clinics, click here.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.
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