December 20, 2006
Contact: Bev Pfeifer-Harms
314.345.5500 office

MFH Awards $1.4 Million in Grants to Bootheel-Area Organizations

St. Louis -Four Bootheel-area organizations have received a share of $1,416,899 in grants from Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH). The funding enables the recipient organizations to improve services to diabetics, develop better strategic planning, and increase options for access to health care. Two of the three MFH funding programs are new in 2006.

The MFH grants are:
Bootheel Counseling Services, Sikeston, $11,428. Through MFH's Strategic Organizational Development program, this grant provides support for the organization to improve its strategic planning and develop a long-range plan for effective service.
Mississippi County Health Department, Charleston, $444,099. This three-year grant supports the health department in providing case management and patient education to people living with diabetes. This grant is one of eight funded across the state under MFH's new Priority Area Grant effort - Better Self-Management of Diabetes - which opened in 2006 and encourages high-quality care for individuals with this chronic disease.
Pemiscot Memorial Health Systems, Hayti, $364,616. This three-year grant enables the organization to enhance current diabetic care programs in order to serve 1,500 individuals in the southeast Missouri. This is a second grant in the Bootheel area through MFH's Better Self-Management of Diabetes funding effort.
SEMO Health Network, New Madrid, $596,796. This three-year grant expands the Otto Bean Medical Center to increase primary and preventive health care services available to uninsured and underinsured individuals in Dunklin County. This funding is part of MFH's newly developed Primary Care Access Initiative, which focuses on strengthening the health care safety net and improving access to care for Missouri residents. This is one of eight grants made across the state under this Initiative, for a total of $5 million.

"We are pleased to provide grants to these organizations as they work toward helping southeast Missouri residents," says Dr. James R. Kimmey, MFH's president and CEO. "Our two new programs - Primary Care Access Initiative and Better Self-Management of Diabetes - also add to MFH's efforts to ensure all Missourians have adequate access to high-quality health care options, and thus live healthier lives."

Established in 2000 through the for-profit conversion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, MFH is the largest non-governmental funder of community health activities in the state. MFH is in its fourth year of grantmaking, issuing more than $195 million in grants and awards to date. It is dedicated to serving the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.

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