This morning, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Community Partnership grants to six local community health agencies totaling $1,397,989. The grants are to be administered by the commissioners’ Community Partnership program, which oversees grants to local agencies that seek to create good-paying jobs for residents and economic development opportunities for businesses, protect the environment, stabilize families and children, and further the community’s access to affordable healthcare. Specifically, this set of grants supports the commissioner’s equity initiatives by funding agencies that will provide more equitable access to healthcare or positive health outcomes for residents.
“As this board declared in 2020, racism itself is a public health crisis in our country, which results in millions of American families struggling to access the high quality, affordable healthcare that they need, as well as in shorter life expectancy and higher rates of long-term life-threatening diseases,” said Board of Commissioners President, Erica C. Crawley. “With these grants, we’re partnering with agencies that not only serve our residents with exceptional care, but also have a strong commitment to health equity. Through their dedication to eliminating structural barriers to healthcare, more Franklin County residents can thrive.”
Each of the funded agencies serves low-income Franklin County residents. In their applications, they identified specific ways that the funding would help them serve underserved communities and the positive outcomes they hope to achieve. The Cancer Support Community of Central Ohio, for instance, is launching a new initiative to identify the needs of cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers in the Black community. Other initiatives will provide maternal healthcare for pregnant women, supplemental food for low-income kids, and care coordination for vulnerable families.
“Healthcare is a human right, but not one that everyone can easily access,” said Commissioner John O’Grady. “We also know that race is a social determinant of health, which leads to unacceptable disparities in treatment, outcomes, and even access to quality nutrition for families. These partner agencies are helping us bring resources directly to residents that need them at a time when many other health resources may be exhausted.”
Agencies funded in this round of grants include the Charitable Pharmacy, Children’s Hunger Alliance, Physicians CareConnection, PrimaryOne Health, the Mobile Disability Resource Center, and the Cancer Support Community of Central Ohio.
“Every child deserves healthy food, and every grandparent should have access to medicine that can prolong or improve their lives. Every family should be free from the worry that they can’t afford the medical care that they need, regardless of how wealthy they may be or what neighborhood they live in. By dedicating these resources to this effort, we are working toward this goal,” said Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce.
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here for more information about the commissioners’ Community Partnership program.