Building Bridges to Better Health

Concluded Partnerships

Each partnership we fund demands both vision and considerable hard work from the individuals and organizations that received funding, regardless of outcome. Therefore, when our funding concludes, these initiatives deserve to have their concluding stories told.

Antioch Children's Health Alliance

Contra Costa County's 2007 health indicators report identified Antioch children as being at particular risk for a litany of health problems that include obesity, juvenile diabetes, and asthma. In response, a collaborative team undertook an extensive community planning process to define and prioritize health concerns and assess the best means for addressing them. Known as the Antioch Children's Health Alliance, the collaborative includes the REACH Project, the Antioch Police Department, the Antioch Unified School District, and local residents. With CHF funding of $205,000 over two years, the Alliance completed a neighborhood action plan for conducting health outreach with children and families and for providing healthier food in the community's schools. The Alliance has secured other funding to implement its plan.

Adam Kruggel, Executive Director, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) and Tanir Ami, Executive Director, Community Clinic Consortium, Contra Costa & Solano Counties

Contra Costa Health Access Campaign

Many of Contra Costa's low-income residents have no health insurance and struggle to find access to high quality health care. Providers and community-based organizations have understood this anecdotally for years, but a quick survey by the Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) of 500 low-income households in east county found that over 40% have no form of health insurance, 60% have never heard of the county's temporary coverage called Basic Health Care, and 25% have not sought treatment for a serious medical condition because they could not pay for it. To address this issue a coalition of organizations led by The Community Clinic Consortium - and which includes CCISCO, La Clínica de La Raza, and Planned Parenthood: Shasta-Diablo - devised a multi-year action plan that focuses on advocacy and enrollment. The Community Health Fund provided $100,000 to support creation of this plan. We did not fund implementation in 2009, simply because the economic downturn and expanding ranks of the medically underserved caused use to tighten our focus on funding the direct delivery of health care services. We hope to eventually revisit this initiative.