HSSA Announces Awards for 2023 "Access to Care" Grants
The Health Sciences and Services Authority (HSSA) of Spokane County has announced its 2023 recipients if its annual Access to Care grants who will receive a total funding of $471,400. These awardees participate in a competitive process whose applicants submitted proposals totaling over $1.3 million.
The Community-Minded Enterprises will receive $75,000 for a Behavioral Health Clinic at its downtown location and will address substance abuse recovery, and will create self-sufficiency through third-party awards.
Joya Child & Family Development will receive $68,400 for its Family Resource Center to hire a Family Resource Coordinator to increase early intervention for infants and toddlers.
The Hispanic Business Professional Association (HBPA) will receive $50,000 for its Esperanza (HOPE) that will support 100-150 Hispanics and Latinos to connect to health, mental health, food and other services who have not been receiving these services due to language barriers and housing instability.
Maddie’s Place Pediatric Transitional Care Facility will receive $95,000 to increase the space for the number of infants who suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Hospitals have had to reduce the time addicted new mothers and babies stay and there were no places for the babies who need specialized care provided at Maddie’s Place. This new facility is only the fourth in the nation to provide these important services.
Partners with Families and Children Children’s Advocacy Center will receive $85,500 in 2023 to help it continue to meet the growing needs of our community’s most vulnerable population, children who are victims of physical and/or sexual abuse.
HSSA will grant Passages Family Support $67,500 to be used toward the purchase of a used RV to deliver behavioral services into the community with Certified Peer Counselors.
Spokane Prescription Assistance Network (SPAN) will receive $30,000. It is one of the most cost-effective programs HSSA funds with a 27 to 1 return on investment. SPAN provides free and lost-cost prescriptions to patients who otherwise cannot afford them.
“HSSA’s mission includes increasing access to care through innovative and collaborative health care delivery in the County, in addition to funding scientific research and infrastructure to grow the life sciences industry in Spokane,” said Jason Thackston, HSSA Board Chair.
HSSA’s grant competition helps to meet one of its strategic goals to increase access to health delivery services in Spokane County for at risk populations and represents a fund of about 15 percent of annual revenues designated for this purpose.
“To date HSSA has awarded approximately $4.5 million in this category, providing resources to those organizations in our County who do the important work with people who might otherwise not receive health care services, and HSSA’s Access to Care grant program also helps decrease costs while improving health care services,” Thackston said.
HSSA’s other strategic initiative is to increase local health sciences research and the infrastructurethat supports it and designates 75 percent of its revenues for that purpose. In the latter case, the grants are open year-round for proposals at any time, and HSSA has invested over $8 million in health science research and infrastructure grants to date. HSSA was successful in achieving reauthorization for 15 years by the legislature, thanks to state and local legislative leadership and local partners, Thackston said.
Together with its Access to Care grants, the organization estimates that it has created over 500 jobs and over $100 million in total economic activity. This includes over $ 70 million in extramural federal grant funding to Spokane. More information about all HSSA grants may be found at www.hssaspokane.org.
About Our Board:
HSSA Board members include Jason Thackston, Board Chair, Senior VP, Chief Strategy & Clean Energy Officer, Avista Corp.; Daryll DeWald, Ph.D, VP WSU Health Sciences and Chancellor, WSU Spokane; AllisonGlasunow, Ph,D & Counsel, Perkins Coie LLP; Alex Jackson, Senior VP & CEO, Northwest Region, MultiCare Health Systems; Kevin Oldenburg, Ph.D. CEO/President, 2nd Sight Bioscience; Alison Poulsen, Executive Director, Better Health Together; Darryl Potyk, M.D., UW/GU Regional Director of Medical Education; David J. Vachon, Ph.D, CEO/Founder, Iasis Molecular Sciences, and Francisco Velazquez,M.D., Director, Spokane Regional Health District.
About HSSA:
The Health Sciences & Services Authority (HSSA) of Spokane County was established in 2007 for 15 years by the Washington legislature, authorized county-wide by Spokane County in 2008 and began operating in 2009. In 2019 it was reauthorized for an additional 15 years effective January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2038. Its mission is to invest in health sciences research to promote economic development, advance new therapies and procedures to combat disease, and to promote public health. HSSA invests funds to create and support a nationally competitive health sciences research cluster in Spokane County, and works to catalyze higher education research and the private sector health sciences industry that will lead to higher wage jobs, long-term sustainability and economic diversification. For more information, visit our website at www.hssaspokane.org or call 509.474.0798.