FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Media Contact:  Sara O’Keefe
April 1, 2008		Phone:(303) 953-3655

Foundation Invests in Communities to Improve the Health of Coloradans

The Colorado Health Foundation Approves $14 Million in First Quarter Grants

DENVER – Since the beginning of the year, The Colorado Health Foundation has invested nearly $14 million in 17 community organizations working to improve the health of Coloradans.

Over half of the funding awarded in the first quarter has been dedicated to two Foundation initiatives. The first is a Physician Loan Repayment Program to help as many as 12 physicians a year pay off medical education loans, provided they practice in either rural or urban communities that face a doctor shortage. The Foundation will pay $50,000 a year for three years towards the doctor’s loans for a maximum of $150,000 each. The second is Healthy Connections, a $6 million initiative to provide information technology needed to coordinate care among clinics that serve low-income, uninsured Coloradans.

The Colorado Health Foundation, dedicated to making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation, partners with nonprofit organizations to increase the number of people who have health coverage; who receive quality, coordinated health care; and who incorporate healthy living practices into their lives.  

The Foundation accepts applications for funding four times a year. The next deadline is April 15. Information about the process, including the Foundation’s grant guidelines, is available at www.ColoradoHealth.org.

In addition to funding the Physician Loan Repayment Program and Healthy Connections, the Board also approved the following major grants during the first quarter of 2008:

• Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care – $120,000 to support school health services and school-based health centers
• Colorado Children's Campaign – $125,000 for the 2010 All Kids Covered Initiative, which is working to increase the number of children with health insurance
• Colorado Rural Health Center – $110,000 for small grants to health-related nonprofits in Alamosa, Durango, Grand Junction and Trinidad
• Comprecare Foundation, Inc. – $300,000 for community health promotion programs for seniors
• Kempe Foundation – $100,000 for consultation, assessment, treatment and referral services for children and adolescents who have been abused or neglected  
• LiveWell Colorado Partnership – $275,000 to support the creation of a statewide organization to prevent obesity
• Mental Health America of Colorado – $306,000 to support the Metro Denver Crisis Triage Project, which provides crisis services to individuals in mental health and substance abuse crises

About The Colorado Health Foundation
The Colorado Health Foundation works to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation by increasing the number of Coloradans with health insurance, ensuring they have access to quality, coordinated care and encouraging healthy living. The Foundation invests in the community through grants and initiatives to health-related nonprofits that focus on these goals, as well as operating medical education programs to increase the health care workforce. The Foundation's assets of nearly $900 million include an investment portfolio as well as an ownership interest in Denver’s HealthONE hospital system. For more information, please visit www.ColoradoHealth.org.

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