The New York State Health Foundation announced its first 23 grantees on Wednesday, less than a year after the foundation was established with charitable funds following the privatization of Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
The foundation awarded a total of $5.7 million with individual grants ranging from $50,000 to nearly $1 million.
The United Way of Long Island received the largest sum of $979,637, which will be used to develop a mobile dental service for at-risk populations. Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, N.Y., received a $977,586 grant to evaluate access to specialty care in rural hospitals, and Manhattans Visiting Nurse Service of New York was awarded $864,837 to create an advanced illness management model in a community based setting.
The remainder of the New York City grant winners include: the city health department, Weill Cornell Medical College, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, HHC, Real World Foundation, Village Center for Care, and YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network. In the Bronx, grants were given to the Phipps Community Development Corp. and the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center. In Brooklyn, Make the Road by Walking was the sole grant winner.
Some advocates question the grants being announced at a splashy party tonight at the Rainbow Room, saying the money would be better spent on health care. The NYSHF is paying for the event out of its $250 million endowment. The Rainbow Room was quite competitive over a couple of midtown venues, a spokesman says.
The request for proposal was released last July, only two months after the foundation began operations. The foundation is governed by a nine-person board of directions and headed by James Knickman, a former vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.