Grant Partners

To provide a six-week training course for clinical staff on somatic experiential interventions associated with severe trauma, as well as ten follow-up small group clinical consultations. 

To implement the first phase of Salesforce technology to streamline operations.

People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE) will facilitate enrollment and redetermination assistance for many “hard to reach” target populations through partnerships with schools, career centers, and ESOL classes. They will also develop materials to help individuals interpret notices and remind them of pending actions, as well as conduct individualized enrollment and group health insurance literacy sessions.

Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will support the civil rights of people with disabilities by providing a unified voice for the community. DPC will promote consumer education and networking, community organizing, grassroots advocacy, policy promotion, and collaborative projects with government and nonprofit entities. It will continue its work with the DAAHR coalition and its Implementation Council, provide cross disability advocacy for access to health care, protect consumer choice and control, influence the implementation of One Care, integrate behavioral health into its work, and prioritize research focused on individuals with disabilities.

Project Directors: Megan Sandel, MD, MPH and Diana Cutts, MD

“Children's HealthWatch - Housing Vital Sign” is a one year project to develop a three-question screening tool to identify housing instability – to be called a “Housing Vital Sign.” While there is growing interest by health care providers in connecting patients to services that address social determinants of health, providers struggle to systematically identify which patients are in need of these services. There are currently no validated measures for universal use by health care providers for identifying housing hardships. This project aims to address that gap. Building on their experience developing and validating a two-question screening tool for food insecurity (Hunger Vital Sign™), the research team will leverage its database of nearly 60,000 patients to identify combinations of up to three housing instability questions with the highest association with adverse health and developmental outcomes among families with young children.

LCHC has developed and implemented a fully integrated primary care and behavioral health program with co-location of services, co-management of patients by the medical and behavioral health providers through a shared care model, and utilization of shared electronic medical records through a newly-implemented Epic system.  The Foundation has supported the development, growth and improvement of this very strong behavioral health integration program, with continued funding for the health center’s response to the substance abuse epidemic in Lynn.  Building upon the learning and successes of its foundational behavioral health integration model, LCHC has developed an integrated primary care/mental health/addictions team of professionals who specialize in addictions and mental health disorders.  The team also utilizes medication to treat addictions, including Suboxone, with plans to add Vivitrol.  LCHC will expand this multi-disciplinary team by adding a psychiatrist, therapists, primary care providers, and nursing staff to serve approximately 800 patients.

Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC) will plan outreach and enrollment activities at community locations. It will use an extensive follow-up system to address churn, ensuring that individuals have obtained the benefit they applied for and that all documents have been submitted.  It will conduct financial education and coaching to help ensure individuals can maintain their payments and minimize the risk of churn, and conduct educational coaching on health insurance literacy.

To record and edit audio and visual content for the organization's website that highlights various yoga and meditation practices targeted at women who have been diagnosed with cancer.   

To produce a video and two multilingual PSAs targeted at funders to inform them of the link between children's vision health, development, and learning.  The video will be featured at Children's Vision Massachusetts Coalition's awareness events in Boston and Springfield. 

To hire a consultant to facilitate a strategic planning retreat.

To hire a strategic planning consultant.

To print a behavioral health resource guide, which provides information on providers, programs, and resources for individuals affected by substance abuse and mental health issues.

To purchase computer hardware and accessories to conduct outreach.

Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) will conduct outreach and partner with MassHealth and the Connector to host enrollment events. They will provide individualized education about the importance of maintaining coverage. Lynn will conduct post-enrollment follow-up to ensure access to primary care services and distribute guides to educate individuals on topics like eligibility and program requirements, assistance with citizenship or residence documentation, medical bills, referrals, and redetermination applications.

Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition’s Health Access Campaign advocates for health care coverage for all immigrants. MIRA supports bills to lift caps for the Children’s Medical Security Plan, reduce out-of-pocket costs, and reinsert affordability protections for the lowest-income residents ineligible for MassHealth. MIRA will also convene a Task Force on Immigrant Healthcare Professionals to examine barriers to relicensing faced by thousands of foreign-trained health care professionals.