HSSA Awards $235,000 for Annual 2016 “Access to Care” Grants

SPOKANE, WA – The Health Sciences & Services Authority (HSSA) of Spokane County recently announced that it has awarded a total of nearly $235,000 in one-year grants to increase access to health care for certain populations in Spokane County. These grants were in response to HSSA 2016: ‘Access to Care’ Grant Competition #11 that is intended to Increase Access to Health Care in Spokane County through Innovative and Collaborative Health Service Delivery.

“HSSA’s goal is to improve the capacity of the Spokane region to contribute to advances in health sciences research and health care delivery services, the latter of which is represented by these annual grants,” said Nancy L. Isserlis, HSSA Board Chair and Spokane City Attorney. “These organizations were thoroughly vetted and provide innovative health care delivery for people in the county who otherwise would not receive such care,” she said.

The grant awardees are as follows:

• Better Health Together will receive $125,000 for its proposal “A Community Approach to Care Coordination – Hot Spotters, H3 and DENT.” BHT’s Community Cares program is an innovative solution whose Community Health Workers (CHW) connect and coordinate services for the region’s most vulnerable populations. The Community Care Team receives referrals from the Spokane Fire Department, Consistent Care, Providence Emergency Rooms, Catholic Charities, Volunteers of America and Community Court.
• Northeast Community Center will receive $45,000 to expand its Youth Counseling Services. NECC will expand its Youth Counseling Services physical space which is already fully utilized with full caseloads for four counselors provided by the Children’s Home Society. HSSA’s investment is expected to increase by 120 youth per week the youth counseling services in an area of the community with high demand.
• Partners with Families & Children will receive $35,000 to fund the Partners’ Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) medical team for its innovative pediatric services and consultancy for child victims of physical and sexual abuse to increase the number of child victim evaluations and hospital consults. Partners provides specialized medical examinations that are provided nowhere else in the community, and hospital consultations which are on the rise.
• Spokane Prescription Assistance Network (SPAN) will receive $30,000 to expand the SPAN network, which helps patients who are uninsured, insured with large co-pays, or Medicare patients in the “donut hole” with pharmacy needs. In 2015, SPAN is on pace to provide medications worth $2 million to the Spokane community. Every $1 of local investment creates a return of $27 in nationally supplied pharmaceuticals.

HSSA’s annual Access to Care grant competition has awarded $1,480,000 since its start in 2009 and helps to meet one of its two strategic goals, which is to increase access to health services in Spokane County, and represents a fund of about 15 percent of annual revenues. HSSA’s other strategic initiative is to increase area health sciences research and the infrastructure that supports it, and designates 75 percent of its revenues for that purpose.