FOR RELEASE September 8, 2005
Contact: Scott Beck
314.345.5512 office

Foundation Commits $1 Million for Project Katrina

St. Louis, September 8 - The Missouri Foundation for Health today announced commitment of $1 million to assist Missouri health and mental health organizations that are providing services to those displaced from their homes on the Gulf Coast.

"Missouri organizations have stepped up efforts to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding, "said James R. Kimmey, M.D., Foundation President and CEO. "In many cases they are drawing on existing resources and reserves to do so and need help."

Grants will be provided on an expedited basis to nonprofit organizations providing direct health, mental health and dental services to those relocated from the affected area to Missouri communities. Instructions for interested applicants will be posted on the Foundation web site on Friday, September 9.

"The Foundation will make every effort to assure that assistance is available as soon as possible as the displaced individuals begin to arrive in Missouri," Kimmey said. "Serious health problems have already been identified among the first arrivals and evaluation and treatment cannot be delayed."

Established in January of 2000 through the for-profit conversion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, MFH is the largest health care foundation in the state and the second largest health conversion foundation in the country. Its vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves. The Foundation is in its fourth year of grantmaking, issuing $134 million in grants and awards to date. For additional information regarding MFH, visit the Web site at www.mffh.org.

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