The Health Foundation of Central Mass

27 By Bob Kievra TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF WORCESTER — A philanthropic resource will soon consider a new round of proposals to improve the health and well-being of Central Massachusetts residents. The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts Inc., a $60 million nonprofit created in 1999, will issue a report to the community Thursday on its donations since 2001 and out- line another round of grants that it plans to award for the five-year peri- od starting next year. The foundation, created from pro- ceeds of the 1996 sale of Central Massachusetts Health Care Inc., a nonprofit health maintenance organ- ization, has awarded $9.8 million over the past five years. It expects to make $10 million in grants between 2007 and 2011. T he foundation will outline its past, present and future and make a call for new proposals Thursday at Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St. The keynote speaker of the 5 p.m. session is House Speaker Salvatore F. Di- Masi, D-Boston. Since 2001, the foundation distrib- uted about $7.5 million in multiyear allocations in three distinct areas — oral health, children's mental health, and child abuse and neglect. Unlike some foundations that sup- port specific causes or programs, the Health Foundation of Central Massa- chusetts begins with a blank slate, relying upon the community to sug- g e st h ow b e st to re so lve u n me t health needs of the re gion's most v u ln e rable p o p u latio n s, sa id D r. Wayne B. Glazier, the foundation's chairman. That approach allows the founda- tion to entertain suggestions from a diverse array of worthy causes, but good intentions aren' t enough to gain foundation funding, said Janice B. Yost, president and chief execu- tive officer. The foundation's intent is to ma ke lo n g-te r m su b sta n tive changes by enhancing system access to care, opting to fund programs that can make sustainable health care im- provements. Because the foundation doesn't state a preference for what it funds, it enables good ideas that might other- wise linger on the sidelines to be brought forward, said Ms. Yost. Keeping an open mind enabled the foundation to consider the problem of oral health, a neglected epidemic of tooth decay, tooth loss and gum disease that affects the 2.3 million Massachusetts residents who lack dental insurance, Dr. Glazier said. "We were sur prised about oral health," he said. "I don't think any- one had that at the top of their lists when we started considering where our first major grants would go." Since 2001, the foundation granted approximately $4.6 million to the Central Massachusetts Oral Health Initiative and the Oral Health Initia- tive of North Central Massachusetts, funding a series of programs that boosted dental visits at neighbor- hood health centers, sponsored more school-age dental screenings, and es- tablished a dental clinic at Quinsiga- mond Community College. On a long-term basis, the founda- tion, working within a statewide Oral Health Advocacy Task Force, gained authorization for dentists to set their own caseloads for accepting patients whose health care coverage is provided by Medicaid, which is kn own in Ma ssa ch u se tts a s MassHealth. Many dentists had pre- viously been unwilling to service MassHealth patients because the old regulations required them to accept all MassHealth patients who sought treatment. "We're trying to put our resources where we can have a significant im- pact," Dr. Glazier said. "If you want to impact change, you've got to be bold." The focus on reaching a wide num- ber of people was one reason the foundation threw its time and money behind a losing 2001 bid to add fluo- ride to Worcester's water supply. That effort was defeated by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent. The foun- d atio n e stimate d it sp e n t ab o u t $400,000 on the campaign. "We're sorry it didn't win but we thought, and continue to do so, that it was an important health issue for our region," Dr. Glazier said. The foundation tries to spend a lit- tle over $2.5 million annually. About 80 percent of the money over the first five years was dedicated to mul- tiyear initiatives, and another 12 per- cent was earmarked for so-called "ac- tivation funds," one-year grants that a ct like ve n tu re cap ita l fo r go o d ideas, he said. As par t of its self-analysis, the foundation commissioned a $26,500 report to study the effectiveness of how it has structured its grant-mak- ing process. "It told us that we're doing a good job and it highlighted ways we can focus on quality improvement," Dr. Glazier said. "This was an opportu- nity for us to show what we've been doing over the past five years, and I think the region and the state can be quite proud." Contact business reporter Bob Kievra by e-mail at rkievra@telegram.com. TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006 WORCESTER, MASS. © Copyright 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp., 20 Franklin St., Worcester, MA 01615. Reprinted with permission. For reprint information call 508.793.9262. T&G Staff/BETTY JENEWIN Janice B. Yost, left, president and CEO of the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, and Lizette Yarzebski, dental director of the Great Brook Valley Health Center, stand in the health center's Denture Lab. Working in the background are lab technician Peter R. Wszeborowski, left, and supervisor S. Charles Bishop Jr. Smiles all around Foundation improves oral health, other ills

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