PITTSBURGH (July 16, 2012)— The Highmark Foundation announced today two grants totaling $150,000 to two Butler County community health organizations. Community Health Clinic of Butler County (CHCBC) will receive a one-year $50,000 grant for the support of its diabetes management program, and Butler Memorial Hospital (BMH) will receive a $100,000 grant for the support of its Maternal Services Program. Both grants will allow for the continued support and growth of programs already in existence.
“The Highmark Foundation applauds the excellent work these two health organizations have done thus far to provide access to care for residents of Butler County, and we are proud to support the growing expansion of these programs,” said Highmark Foundation President Yvonne Cook.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, there were 800 women who died each day in 2010 due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, 346 million people worldwide are reported as having diabetes, further underscoring the need for continued services.
Both organizations were previously awarded grants from the Highmark Foundation. Reported outcomes indicate that their programs greatly surpassed their initial goals. The CHCBC exceeded its goal of serving 250 diabetic patients by serving approximately 1,000 patients that were treated by part-time staff and volunteers. BMH showed significant outcomes, including a decrease in “no-show” postpartum visits and lower percentages of low birth weight infants, a decrease from 2.6 percent to 1.5 percent by the end of the grant period.
“Highmark has permitted the Community Health Clinic of Butler County to cost effectively treat our diabetic and dental population,” said Cecelia Foster, executive director of Community Health Clinic of Butler County. “This has been a wonderful partnership that supports our mission of providing primary medical, dental, diabetic and behavioral health care to our uninsured Butler community – neighbors helping neighbors.”
The mission of Community Health Clinic of Butler County is to provide primary health care to the uninsured and income-eligible neighbors of Butler County.
Butler Health System (BHS) is a community health system that provides health care services in locations throughout Western Pennsylvania. It is a network of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, personally invested in the community, who are focused on providing individualized care for every patient we treat. At BHS, we are neighbors taking care of neighbors for the benefit of the whole community.
The Highmark Foundation is a charitable organization, a private foundation and an affiliate of Highmark Inc. that supports initiatives and programs aimed at improving community health. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for individuals who reside in the communities where we do business. The Foundation strives to support evidence-based programs that impact multiple counties and work collaboratively to leverage additional funding to achieve replicable models. For more information, visit www.highmarkfoundation.org
Denise Hughes
Highmark Inc.
412-544-7488
denise.hughes@highmark.com