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Mayor Lee Announces $5.5 Million Gift from Kaiser Permanente to Support Community-Based Organizations

Seven Local Grants, including $3 Million for Public Housing Residents, Part of Health Care Leader’s Commitment to Healthy Communities in Bay Area

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced $5.5 million in grants from Kaiser Permanente that will support seven local nonprofits dedicated to improving the health of at-risk populations in the San Francisco Bay Area, including a $3 million focus on public housing residents through HOPE SF, the City’s innovative initiative to revitalize San Francisco’s most distressed public housing sites into mixed-income communities without displacing existing residents and while providing residents with services that will allow them to thrive in the transformed communities.

“Kaiser Permanente has a long history of supporting organizations in our City that are critical to improving the health of our communities,” said Mayor Lee. “These generous grants totaling $5.5 million will help San Francisco reach its goal of improving the quality of life for residents who may have challenges in getting the health care and support they need to lead healthy, productive lives and ultimately succeed in our City. From improving health and wellness services for our homeless and public housing residents to violence prevention strategies for at risk youth to preventing heart attacks and strokes, public-private partnerships like this are critical to our City.”

“As part of the broader health eco-system, we fully understand the importance of collaborating with other organizations and supporting the programs and services they provide to make a deeper, more sustainable difference in the total health of our communities,” said Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson. “These grants demonstrate our commitment to creating communities that support the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of those who live, work and thrive in San Francisco.”

“In my two years as District 5 Supervisor, my first priority has been public housing and the quality of life of the residents,” said Supervisor London Breed. “I’m very happy to see this public-private partnership with Kaiser Permanente and the City of San Francisco. This $5.5 million grant towards health and social programs will have a big impact in the lives of our most vulnerable residents.”

“Kaiser Permanente has been consistently been a strong partner for our neighborhoods in San Francisco,” said Supervisor Malia Cohen. “These grants will help uplift some of our most vulnerable communities and address a broad spectrum of the needs our residents have.”

The Peer Health Leadership Program at HOPE SF will receive $3 million to improve resident health and wellness at four HOPE SF sites serving 4,000 of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents. The leadership program at HOPE SF supports broad community development to address the social aspects of health and wellness, including community engagement, economic mobility, safety, and education, during this large-scale public housing revitalization.

The Bayview HEAL Zone (Healthy Eating, Active Living) is part of the San Francisco Health Foundation and will receive $1 million. Previous support of this initiative has helped increase access to fresh produce and safe drinking water as well as increasing the availability and use of parks and public spaces. This continued assistance will include strategies related to violence prevention, community safety, neighborhood cohesion, social and emotional health and family support.

HealthRIGHT 360 is a non-profit health-care safety-net organization serving more than 50,000 clients annually, most of them uninsured and facing additional challenges from homelessness, incarceration or poverty. It will receive $500,000 toward its capital campaign for a new San Francisco health-care campus.

PHASE (Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes Everyday), an award-winning Kaiser Permanente program providing evidence-based care for complex patients who are at risk for heart attacks and strokes, will be expanded through a $400,000 grant to San Francisco General Foundation. The grant will allow PHASE to reach 30 percent more patients.

The UCSF Center for Excellence in Primary Care will also receive funding to expand PHASE. $250,000 will be used to assess clinic readiness and capacity, develop methods to measure effectiveness, provide on-going coaching and training, assist with data analytics and create forums to share and spread best practices.

The San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, an organization representing 11 non-profit safety-net clinics in San Francisco will receive $250,000 to support its core services of fostering coordination across health-care delivery systems and advocating on behalf of safety-net patients.

Finally, the California Center for Youth Wellness, a health clinic and service-delivery organization located in Bayview Hunters Point will receive $100,000 to help develop a statewide strategy to prevent adverse childhood experiences that can lead to chronic disease.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 9.5 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.