Largest faith-based grantmaker in South Texas expands network of local providers benefitting from multi-million dollar initiative
San Antonio, TX – Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. (MHM), the largest private, faith-based funding source for healthcare services in South Texas, today announced the expansion of healthcare providers participating in the Sí Texas Project: Social Innovation for a Healthy South Texas initiative. Nuestra Clinica del Valle and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's Salud y Vida 2.0 program will work alongside seven other South Texas providers taking part in the multi-million dollar effort designed to improve health outcomes in communities with high rates of poverty, depression, diabetes, obesity and associated risk factors.
The Sí Texas Project took shape after Methodist Healthcare Ministries announced it was the first-ever, faith-based organization to receive a federal grant from the Social Innovation Fund(SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service. The overarching goal of the Project is to improve rates of depression and diabetes over five years and build the capacity of organizations working in this arena while leveraging both public and private partnerships to attract additional investments in South Texas.
Sub-grants ranging from $100,000 to $2 million were awarded to organizations that successfully completed an open, competitive application process. The first cohort of organizations selected to receive funding were announced at a public ceremony in McAllen, Texas in May. The addition of Nuestra Clinica del Valle and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston rounds out the network which together represents a $13 million dollar investment in South Texas.
"The SIF is proud to propel the innovative work of the Methodist Healthcare Ministries Sí Texas Project to new heights," said Damian Thorman, Director of the Social Innovation Fund. "With an initial $10 million grant over two years and the addition of these two service providers, Methodist Healthcare Ministries will be able to expand its innovative model to significantly improve both the physical and behavioral health outcomes for individuals in low-income communities across South Texas."
The nine South Texas organizations selected as sub-grantees for the Sí Texas Project, and the counties they serve, include:
Rio Grande Valley
- Nuestra Clinica del Valle, Hidalgo and Starr Counties
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron
- Counties
- Lower Rio Grande Valley Community Health Management Corp, Inc. (El Milagro Clinic),
- Hidalgo County
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), Hidalgo
- County
- Tropical Texas Behavioral Health, Cameron County
- Community Hope Projects, Inc. (Hope Family Health Center), Hidalgo, Starr, Willacy, and
- Cameron Counties
Laredo
- Mercy Ministries of Laredo, Webb County
- Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), Webb County
Coastal Bend
- Rural Economic Assistance League (REAL), Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, and Kleberg Counties
"These organizations represent an unparalleled effort to test and find a solution to a health crisis that is not isolated to South Texas. This project has the potential to shine a bright light on strategies that work—not in theory, but tested and evaluated—to improve health outcomes for those dealing with diabetes and depression in this region, but that can be replicated nationally," stated Kevin C. Moriarty, president and chief executive officer at Methodist Healthcare Ministries. "We are grateful to the Social Innovation Fund for their partnership and investment in this work and to the local community that has taken shape to support and sustain it."
In 2008, an article published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine reported the depression rate in South Texas among Hispanic patients with Type 2 diabetes was at 39 percent. The Si Texas Project, through its sub-grantees, will attempt to build an intricate network of cross-sector partnerships that will lead region-wide improvements in those conditions.
About Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. (MHM) is a private, faith-based not-for profit organization dedicated to providing medical, dental and health-related human services to low-income families and the uninsured in South Texas. The mission of the organization is "Serving Humanity to Honor God" by improving the physical, mental and spiritual health of those least served in the Rio Texas Conference area of The United Methodist Church. The mission also includes MHM's one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System, the largest healthcare system in South Texas, which creates a unique avenue to ensure that it continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all and charitable care when needed. For more information, visit mhm.org.
About The Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service and champions community solutions through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.