HMSA Foundation awards Hawaii non-profit programs with $237,714 in grants

HONOLULU—The Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) Foundation announced that it awarded $237,714 in grants to 11 health programs and community organizations in the second quarter of the year. The HMSA Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable foundation that supports efforts across the state to improve the health of Hawaii’s people.

HMSA Foundation grants made in the second quarter include:

· Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii—The grant supports the Healthy Lifestyles program for young members with activities that focus on health, exercise, and nutrition. The goal is to reduce childhood obesity and create healthy lifestyle choices that last into adulthood. Grant amount: $25,000.

· Chaminade University of Honolulu—The grant supports the “Staying Alive for One to Four Minutes” project that provides automated external defibrillators (AED) for use on the Chaminade campus and at three off-site residence halls. Grant amount: $23,000.

· Hawaii Meals on Wheels—The grant supports the “Hot Meal, Home Delivery and Route Expansion” program that delivers more than 1,700 hot, nutritious meals to elderly and homebound residents. It expands the service area to include two additional routes to meet the needs of Oahu’s aging population. The funds will also be used for recruitment and training. Grant amount: $15,000.

· Help, Understanding & Group Support(HUGS)—The grant supports the Maldonado Airfare Fund, which helps families that must transport a seriously ill child to Oahu from the Neighbor Islands or from any island to the Mainland for life-saving treatment or surgery. The fund provides up to $2,500 per family, per calendar year. Grant amount: $10,000.

· Kapiolani Community College—The grant supports the “5-2-1-0 Let’s Go Digital Video Development Project.” Videos of the 5-2-1-0 theme song, dance exercises, and flash mob performances will be disseminated through the 5-2-1-0 website, social media, and Share Your Table TV channel and website (www.ShareYourTable.tv). The videos target children and youth. Grant amount: $25,000.

· Kapiolani Health Foundation—The grant supports a study called “Utilizing Biomarkers to Improve the Cervical Cancer Prevention Process.” It evaluates the effectiveness of a new Pap smear tool. By reducing the number of women who receive unnecessary procedures, significant cost savings may be realized over time. Grant amount: $11,214.

· Lanai Community Health Center—The grant supports a project called “Improving Patient Care & Chronic Disease Outcomes through Chronic Care Model and Electronic Patient Registries.” It develops and implements a wellness education program for patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, utilizing electronic medical record and patient registry programs. The project aims to improve the health of patients at the Lanai Community Health Center. Grant Amount: $50,000.

· National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii—The grant supports the “Kidney Disease in the Pacific—Meeting the Challenge” conference. It brings together providers who treat chronic diseases from Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, and American Samoa, enhances professional development, and provides an opportunity to network among colleagues in the nephrology profession. The conference also features the latest in products and technology in the dialysis field. Grant amount: $5,000.

· Philippine Medical Association of Hawaii Foundation—The grant supports the “Healthy in Hawaii” conference, which updates health care providers on current developments in the treatment of thyroid cancer, osteoarthritis, menopause, and osteoporosis. It also focuses on nephrology, immunizations, infectious diseases, pediatric obesity, and cardiology. Grant amount: $2,500.

· Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific—The grant supports a project called “Building Capacity and Improving Outcomes for Patients with Neurological Vision Impairments.” It brings the latest neurological vision therapy to Hawaii by establishing the first vision clinic in an acute rehabilitation setting. Grant amount: $56,000.

· Women In Need—The grant supports the “Substance Abuse Relapse Prevention” program, which provides tools, knowledge, and a support system to help prevent substance abuse relapse on Kauai and Oahu. Twenty individuals on each island will participate in the project. Grant amount: $15,000.

The HMSA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt private charitable organization. It was founded in Hawaii in 1986 as a public foundation with the goal of stimulating research aimed at some of the pressing issues that confronted Hawaii’s health care industry. In 1997, the Foundation was converted to a private foundation to allow for larger contributions from donors, such as HMSA.

The mission of the HMSA Foundation is to extend HMSA’s commitment to provide community access to cost-effective health care services, promote health, provide health education and relevant research, and improve social welfare in Hawaii.

Health plan dues from HMSA members and employer groups are not used to fund Foundation grants.  Foundation grants are funded with annual investment income earned on its original endowment.  For more information on the HMSA Foundation, please visit www.hmsafoundation.org.