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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan awards $60,000 in grants to help uninsured and underinsured Kent County families access health care
Meghan O'Brien
| 4 min read
GRAND RAPIDS, Nov. 17, 2015 – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan awarded $60,000 in grant funding today to four Grand Rapids health centers to help uninsured and underserved Kent County families obtain medical care. The grants are part of Blue Cross’s statewide Strengthening the Safety Net program. The Grand Rapids recipients of the grants are:
- Baxter Community Center, which received $15,000 to support its dental clinic
- Catherine’s Health Center, which received $20,000 for medical service enhancements
- Health Intervention Services, which received $15,000 for dental services
- Oasis of Hope Center, which received $10,000 to support its medical services
“Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is proud to support the collaborative spirit that these four centers bring to the Grand Rapids community and what they do to help improve people’s lives throughout Kent County,” said Patrick Prichard, vice president of West Michigan and Upper Peninsula operations for Blue Cross. “These safety net grants are part of Blue Cross’s ongoing commitment to increase access to care across the state.” More than 150,000 Kent County residents are uninsured or underinsured. Combined, Baxter Community Center, Catherine’s Health Center, Health Intervention Services and Oasis of Hope Center provided free or low-cost medical care through 17,500 primary care and 3,000 dental visits in 2014. The health centers also assisted patients in obtaining 4,400 free or low-cost medications and helped 5,500 people enroll in a health plan. The grants were announced at Baxter Community Center, which serves a neighborhood with 30-percent unemployment and where 99 percent of school age children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The Kent County Health Department reports that the City of Grand Rapids has only half the number of dentists its residents need. “This generous support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will help us deliver much-needed health services and treatment to the families we serve here in the Baxter neighborhood and improve the quality of life for many of our neighbors,” said Melanie Beelen, executive director of Baxter Community Center. Karen J. Kaashoek, executive director of Catherine's Health Center, said, “Health care professionals and volunteers in our community go above and beyond to ensure families get the care they need. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a valued partner in our common effort to help our neighbors.” “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s highly cooperative approach to health care can help us address many of the challenges we see in Grand Rapids and we appreciate this continued partnership,” said Bill Paxton, president of Health Intervention Services. “Health Intervention Services and the families we serve thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for these generous grants that will help us continue to provide much needed dental services.” “At Oasis of Hope, this grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan can help our skilled staff and volunteers do even more,” said Barb Grinwis, executive director of Oasis of Hope Center. “We are excited to receive this grant, which will help us extend our resources even further so we can deliver quality medical care and services to our community.” State Sen. Dave Hildenbrand said, “The amount of work centers like Baxter Community Center, Catherine Health Center, Health Intervention Services and Oasis of Hope Center do every day in our community is an inspiration to all of us. The mission of these centers reflects one of the most cherished values of our community, and that’s neighbors looking out for each other. Thanks to these generous grants from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, many more people in our community will get access to quality care.” Blue Cross has provided more than $11 million to support safety net providers across Michigan since the Strengthening the Safety Net grant program was created in 2005. The grants have enabled clinics to care for more than 60,000 people annually and have accounted for more than 1 million patient medical visits. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSM provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.5 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. Photo Credit: Finizio
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