Impact

While the Foundation is proud of any number of the grants made during its existence, overall, they all enable us to have a positive effect on the health of South Floridians. Here are a few highlights from the Foundation’s grant making and its impact in various areas.
 
Primary Care
Health Foundation helped to create community- based health clinics for the poor and underserved in Hialeah, the Florida Keys, Homestead, Little Haiti and within Miami- Dade County’s largest homeless shelter.  Grant supported projects provided medical services to over 10,100 local residents.
 
The Foundation helped to establish electronic medical records in seven local community based clinics. Successful advocacy resulted in increased KidCare funding and evaluated Medicaid Reform within Florida. By helping a group of nonprofit, community -based health centers to create their own competitive Provider Service Network, they now serve thousands of Medicaid recipients.
 
Oral Health
The Foundation helped establish seven dental clinics, 19 oral health sites and 41 dental operatories within the safety net system.  Our grants have supported dental care for more than 15,649 residents.  Grant funded consultation has led to increased efficiencies and increased revenue for safety net dental clinics. And, the Foundation helped pass the fluoridation vote in Florida City.
 
Preventive Health Measures
In this area, the Foundation enabled 4,800 women to have screening mammograms,  5,687 to have cervical cancer screenings and helped increase awareness of the importance of cancer screening to more than 27,230 residents.  It commissioned a 2010 report that identifies the highest risk neighborhoods for late stage cancer detection and helped acquire a new, mobile, digital mammography van.
 
Healthy Eating Active Communities
Health Foundation helped provide evidence- based nutrition and/or physical activity programs to 12,252 children and adults.  The Foundation has helped over 312 local schools adopt new health promoting policies and practices, 120 after schools sites implement effective physical activity programs and six local schools receive assistance from the National Nutrition Program resulting in improved food offerings for 5,200 children.   It also helped establish two farmers markets in low-income neighborhoods.
 
Healthy Aging
More than 17,000 older adults have benefitted from the Foundation’s Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative, which offers evidenced based healthy aging programs in 160 sites.  These programs address chronic disease self management, fall prevention, fitness and depression screening and referral.
 
Other Areas
Through Foundation support, more than 60 local health and social service nonprofit agencies were able to upgrade and improve their information technology systems (e.g., assessment, hardware, software, consultation).
 
Additional impact was made through helping to establish: 

• A regional nursing student clinical placement program
• A hospital-wide training program for end of life care
• The Miami Dade Health Report Card and its current electronic version, Miami Matters
• A Sickle Cell Day Treatment Center
• Scholarship support for over 514 nursing students
• A PACE center (comprehensive healthcare center for older adults) in Hialeah