Health

Health care is an essential fact in the lives of all the low-income people the Foundation serves. Without good health, one cannot benefit from an education, maintain a home, find and keep a job, or age in place. The Foundation helps people access comprehensive primary care at Federally Qualified Health Centers, Federally Qualified Look-Alike Health Centers, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, Health Care for the Homeless, and free clinics for primary care. Whenever a clinic or health center wants to add new services such as dental health, mental health, chronic disease management (such as diabetes), pre-natal care, substance abuse treatment, and diagnostic and specialty care, the Foundation is willing to help. Although the Foundation is no longer funding hospital building expansions, hospitals are obviously indispensable community health resources for specialty care. Any hospital that has community outreach such as mobile clinics and freestanding clinics or programs to divert non-trauma patients from emergency departments will receive consideration for funding.

The Foundation's specific goals for "Health" include: Populations: the working poor, non-working poor, the homeless, and their children

1. Primary Care Clinics: To increase access to primary health care for the working poor (no insurance, no Medicaid, no Medicare) at community-based, free health clinics, health care for the homeless, federally qualified health centers, "look-alikes," and clinics on wheels in Maryland, Hawaii, and the northeast corridor of the US.
2. Dental Clinics: To increase access to quality dental treatment for the working and non-working poor and their children (including Medicaid recipients) in dental clinics in Maryland, Hawaii, the northeast corridor of the US, and Israel.
3. Community-Based screening and early detection (and assessment) of diseases and disorders and disabilities in low-income populations: To increase screenings and early detection of diseases, disorders, and disabilities for low-income adults and children via mobile clinics and community-based programs. The primary medical diseases and disorders include HIV/AIDS, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cervical cancer, asthma, autism, vision and hearing, vitamin deficiencies, learning disabilities, scoliosis, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
4. Buildings: To increase the space available for direct services via capital grants for new buildings and renovations and to furnish equipment for health clinics, dental clinics, and community-based screenings.
5. Request for Proposals (RFP): To support an innovative, maverick idea or an urgent ongoing need in the community: One RFP annually, e.g., access to free prescription medication and specialty services in free clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maryland.