Frederick County Health Care Coalition receives about $200,000 in grant money
EXCERPT from the Frederick News Post —
The Frederick County Health Care Coalition recently received about $200,000 in grant money, allowing the nonprofit to unlock the same amount of funding from dollars it received in the spring from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The organization — created in 2006 to manage local health improvement efforts — received $600,000 in ARPA money in March to support its attempts to confront health disparities in the county and state.
Half of that money is only accessible if the coalition matches it dollar for dollar.
Every three years, the organization works with the Frederick County Health Department and Frederick Health to develop plans for addressing public health problems in the community.
The Frederick County Health Care Coalition recently received about $200,000 in grant money, allowing the nonprofit to unlock the same amount of funding from dollars it received in the spring from the American Rescue Plan Act. Shown are board President Pilar Olivo, left, and Coalition Executive Director Malcolm Furgol.
Currently, volunteer-led work groups are studying three local public health problems the Health Care Coalition selected as priorities in February: mental health, Type 2 diabetes and adverse childhood experiences.
Of the $600,000 the nonprofit received in March, $300,000 has been set aside to help the work groups implement their ideas for programs and other initiatives.
To access the other $300,000, however, the coalition has to raise money to match it.
So far, the coalition has received a combined total of $201,000 in grants from the Ausherman Family Foundation, the Helen J. Serini Foundation and The Leadership Conference Education Fund.
With ARPA’s matching dollars, the Health Care Coalition will bring in $402,000. Though the nonprofit has $99,000 left in ARPA money to unlock, Malcolm Furgol, executive director of the nonprofit, said the coalition hopes to raise even more than that from local donors.
“We’re very ambitious with the impact we hope to make — building a foundation of community health collaboration to really lift up the quality of life for all Frederick County residents,” Furgol said.
The Ausherman Family Foundation awarded the coalition $46,000, and the Helen J. Serini Foundation gave the nonprofit $30,000.
Both amounts and the ARPA money they unlocked will allow the nonprofit to hire more employees and help it to train work group volunteers in health equity best practices, according to a news release on Monday from the coalition.
The money will also help the coalition offer stipends to community members who represent populations with health disparities to participate in the work groups.
“Their voices will provide valuable insights and perspectives on how to best implement the various initiatives and engage with the priority populations,” the news release says.
The Health Care Coalition will also receive $125,000 from The Leadership Conference Education Fund over the course of two years. The money will allow the nonprofit to hire someone to serve as a grants and data specialist.
The person in this new position will help the coalition’s executive director work with health improvement coalitions across the state to advocate for the reporting of more specific data across the state for race and ethnicity and LGBTQ+ status.
The staff member will also help the organization apply for more grants, according to Monday’s news release.
Editor’s note: Pilar Olivo, president of the Frederick County Health Care Coalition’s board of directors, is married to Geordie Wilson, publisher of The Frederick News-Post.
Read the full story at: https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/health/fitness_and_wellness/frederick-county-health-care-coalition-receives-about-200-000-in-grant-money/article_6edb5d86-023a-541a-a768-210fb04822a9.html