HEALTH GRANTS: California Endowment Spreads the Wealth
The California Endowment this week ended its fiscal year by announcing several new health-related grants, bringing this year's grand total to more than $162 million in awards (release, 2/25). The Los Angeles Times reports that the Endowment is awarding $31 million to help meet housing and health care needs for migrant farm workers, primarily in the Great Central Valley, one of the poorest regions in the state. Studies have shown that agricultural workers are three times as likely as the average person to die of respiratory diseases such as emphysema. "The shortage of housing and health care for agricultural workers is one of the real shames of California, and this money represents a significant opportunity to impact lives," said William French of the Sacramento-based Rural Community Assistance Corp., which won the award. While the lion's share of the money will go to build houses, a "smaller portion ... will build health clinics and pay health care workers." The first clinic should be finished by spring 2000 (Arax, 2/26). Other recent Endowment awards include:
- The Amassi Center of Los Angeles will receive $196,200 to help change Los Angeles-area African Americans' high-risk behavior associated with high incidences of STDs.
- Western University of the Health Sciences in Pomona will receive $670,129 to develop care programs for people with disabilities.
- The Family Caregiver Alliance of San Francisco will receive $332,800 to assist family caregivers of the elderly suffering from dementia.
- Logan Heights Family Health Center in San Diego will receive $549,399 to offer disease prevention and treatment programs to low-income Latinos (release, 2/25).
- California Telehealth & Telemedicine will receive $5 million to expand and improve telemedicine programs in urban, underserved areas. The center plans to use the money for demonstration projects, training programs, public policy outreach and long-term financial planning. Board chair Dr. Thomas Nesbitt said, "With this funding, we expect the number of telemedicine sites in California to exceed 100" (release, 2/22).