The Franklin County Commissioners announced this morning new grants totaling $1,683,000 to community partner organizations for the purpose of promoting equity in healthcare for Franklin County residents. The nine grant recipients and their initiatives were chosen from among more than 50 applicants because of their focus on reducing disparities in health outcomes primarily for populations that have been historically underserved by high-quality healthcare and health services.
“All of Franklin County’s residents deserve to have their basic healthcare needs met and to benefit from the large and modern healthcare infrastructure we have in place in Franklin County,” said Board of Commissioners President, John O’Grady. “Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case yet. Health outcomes like other life outcomes continue to depend on what zip code somebody lives in, their race or ethnicity, and how much money they have. These grants are an acknowledgement of those disparities and a first step toward reducing them.”
The new grants are administered by the commissioners’ Community Partnership agency which has made similar grants since 2021, and which oversaw more than $10.5 million in total grant funding last year. Recipient organizations include the Children’s Hunger Alliance and the Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio, both of which are expanding their nutritional support for at-risk youth, and the Cancer Support Community of Central Ohio and Physicians CareConnection, which are working to reduce barriers to care, including by providing education and other culturally appropriate services. In addition, Catholic Social Services will use the funding to provide preventative health measures aimed at Central Ohio’s Hispanic population, Lutheran Social Services will use it to address health concerns for residents of the Faith Mission and CHOICES domestic violence shelters, and OhioHealth’s grant will go to maternal health and infant mortality efforts. A full list of recipients is below.
“If there is anything that the recent pandemic has shown, it is that not everyone in our community is equally affected by issues of health and healthcare, and that there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that we’re succeeding together as a community in this area,” said Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce. “Black and Brown residents are not only dealing with higher rates of some diseases and lower life expectancies, but also aren’t as likely to be able to get their kids in to see a doctor when they’re sick, let alone having access to things like prescriptions or mental or physical therapy.”
Applicants for the new health equity grants were required to not only show that they are providing healthcare to residents in need, but that they are also focused on long-term improvements in health
outcomes, and also on moving health equity forward within the organization and with its partners. The commissioners’ 2019
Rise Together Blueprint for Addressing Poverty in Franklin County identified disparate health outcomes as both a symptom and cause of poverty in our community.
“A lot of our neighbors were just getting by even before the pandemic, and are only starting to get back on their feet now,” said Commissioner Erica C. Crawley. “A large part of our mission as elected officials is to see to it that Franklin County families have the tools they need not just to survive, but to thrive, and working on issues of equity is at the top of our list as we do that. It is simply not acceptable that because of their race or the neighborhood they live in, people’s lives are cut short due to poorer health outcomes.”
The commissioners’ resolution approving these Health Equity Grants and more information about them is available
here, and information about the commissioners’ Community Partnerships Program and future funding opportunities can be found
here.
Franklin County Commissioners 2023 Health Equity Grant Recipients
- Cancer Support Community of Central Ohio: $150,000 to focus on reducing barriers to caner care, providing appropriate support, education, programs, and wrap-around services for individuals impacted by cancer and who are disproportionately affected by health disparities
- Catholic Social Services Inc.: $50,000 to provide preventative health measures such as vaccines, mammograms, and behavioral health and education to Central Ohio’s Hispanic population
- Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio: $150,000 to expand the heart healthy nutritional access program to all patients
- Children’s Hunger Alliance: $150,000 to provide healthy and nutritious meals to children at risk for food insecurity in Franklin County
- FESTA: $8,000 to highlight the need for fitness to address physical and mental health among young people
- Lutheran Social Services: $50,000 to provide diabetes and hypertension education to residents in the Faith Mission and CHOICES populations
- OhioHealth Cooperation: $125,000 to provide comprehensive prenatal, postpartum, and women’s health care to women residing in Franklin County’s infant mortality hotspots
- Physicians CareConnection: $500,000 to provide high-touch care coordination that includes culturally and linguistically appropriate services
- PrimaryOne Health: $500,000 to offer a broad range of services and programs to meet the health needs of women and their families