Wellmark Foundation Funds Grant

to Study Decatur County Healthcare

 The Wellmark Foundation funded eight capacity-building grant requests from Iowa organizations totaling $39,978 . The one-year grants are part of a new Wellmark Foundation grant program designed to increase the capacity of Iowa and South Dakota organizations to better meet community health needs on a long-term basis.

The Community Health Centers of Southern Iowa (CHCSI) in conjunction with other Decatur County healthcare organizations was awarded $5,000 to conduct a strategic planning process to integrate health care services in Decatur County. “It is expected that a professionally facilitated strategic planning process involving local medical and behavioral health care providers will result in increased collaboration and more effective use of limited resources in the community,” Gary Rees, CEO of CHCSI and co-chairperson of this process said.

The Community Health Centers of Southern Iowa, Decatur County Hospital, Decatur County Public Health and Home Care, Decatur County Central Point of Coordination, Westview Acres Care Center, Lamoni Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Decatur Family Pharmacy, Varsity Drug, Crown Colony Retirement Center, Optometrist, Dentist, and Medical Practices along with the Lamoni SAFE Coalition will be invited to join this planning process.

“At this time, there is a great need to coordinate health care across the complete health care spectrum in Decatur County – primary care, hospital, long-term care, dental, home care, prescription services, vision, and behavioral,” Phyllis Miller, who – in addition to being the owner and local pharmacist of Decatur Family Pharmacy – will serve as the co-chairperson of this process. “It is essential that providers in Decatur County develop a cooperative approach with each other to provide service if we are going to continue to provide high quality health care services in Decatur County,” she continued.

According to the grant that was awarded funding, “The focus of the project will be to build a base of knowledge and a framework for making decisions central to the strategic plan. These will touch on clinical functions, capital commitments, staffing and recruitment, and collaborative arrangements.”

“This process would closely involve hospitals, physicians and community organizations to reach consensus on direction and priorities for medical and behavioral services in general and the role of each provider as defined in its strategic plan,” Rees added.

The Wellmark Foundation has provided more than $1.6 million to 59 health-related grants in Iowa and South Dakota during 2006, including $49,978 approved during this capacity-building grant cycle.

The next round of community responsive grant applications will be due to The Wellmark Foundation in February 2007. Visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.wellmark.com/foundation for instructions on how to apply for a Wellmark Foundation grant and a list of previous grant recipients.

The Wellmark Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation created by Wellmark, Inc., doing business as Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and The Wellmark Foundation are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.