Methodist Healthcare Ministries awards $26.7M in health care grants to more than 90 grantees across South Texas
Methodist Healthcare Ministries has awarded $26.7 million in community grants to 93 agencies to assist the health care needs of hundreds of thousands of Texans throughout its 74-county service area. View 2018 funded partners.
Given annually, these grants are rooted in partnerships that support access to care, integrated delivery systems and patient-centered models. In partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), safety-net clinics, counseling services and regional community projects, Methodist Healthcare Ministries' goal is to create measurable impact at the community and regional levels to further establish health care networks. Awards are based on five core areas of giving: Primary & Preventive Care, Dental Services, Regionalization & Community Engagement, Social Services & Behavioral Health and Health Care Professional Shortages.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries is dedicated to helping the least served obtain access to quality health care. Through strategic partnerships with funded agencies that share our mission, we can collectively work toward addressing the need in South Texas and improving the health of our communities.
Funding is allocated to approximately 131 grant programs to deepen collaborative efforts, incentivize quality health outcomes, leverage and strengthen health care delivery systems and promote sustainable systems change.
The single largest area of giving this year is to Primary & Preventive Care, with more than $12 million awarded to support programs designed to promote health, wellness and primary medical care services. Funding to Social Services & Behavioral Health is the second largest area with awards totaling $7.7 million to support integrated health care programs.
San Antonio-based FQHC, CentroMed, will receive $2 million for primary and preventive care services in Bexar County. The intent is twofold. First, to promote patient health improvement in a panel of underserved patients with two or more co-morbidities including diabetes (prevention/ management), hypertension, obesity management and prevention, and depression. Second, to strengthen the safety net for homeless patients at the Haven for Hope campus by providing needed services to patients and increasing care coordination among service providers.
“It is truly a blessing to be able to continue in this important partnership with Methodist Healthcare Ministries,” said CentroMed President & CEO, Dr. Ernesto Gomez. “The funding support and technical assistance Methodist Healthcare Ministries has provided over the years has enabled us to acquire expanded capacity to provide much needed health care to the many families struggling with pervasive poverty, homelessness, and a lack of health insurance. Together, we are able to provide critical health care for the least served among us.”
Methodist Healthcare Ministries provides funding and/or works in partnership with 17 of the 22 FQHCs located in its service area utilizing a value-based funding model. "Our FQHC partners play a vital role in our mission of serving the underserved,” said Ricks.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries seeks partnerships that align with its mission and services and support its objectives. Methodist Healthcare Ministries' board of directors oversees the selection of funded partners and requests are considered on an annual basis by invitation only; unsolicited proposals are not accepted.
Since inception, Methodist Healthcare Ministries has invested more than $281 million in grant-making to improve community health care in its 74-county service area – which makes up 29 percent of Texas counties.
In addition to grant-making, Methodist Healthcare Ministries seeks to increase access to health care through advocacy and direct services. Methodist Healthcare Ministries operates two San Antonio-based primary health care clinics: Wesley Health & Wellness Center and Dixon Health & Wellness Center, and two School Based Health Centers: School Based Health Center at Krueger Elementary and School Based Health Center at Schertz Elementary. The clinics address the needs of low-income families and the uninsured by providing services at no cost or on a sliding fee scale. The health care services Methodist Healthcare Ministries provides are a cornerstone of its charitable purpose of creating access to care. In 2018, Methodist Healthcare Ministries has a budgeted expenditure of more than $112 million for nearly 950,000 patient and client visits.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries' mission also includes its one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System – the largest healthcare system in South Texas. This creates a unique avenue to ensure the Methodist Healthcare System continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all, and revenue to Methodist Healthcare Ministries for its programs and services.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. is a private, faith-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating access to health care for the uninsured through services, community partnerships and strategic grant-making in 74 counties across South Texas. Methodist Healthcare Ministries seeks to improve the physical, mental and spiritual health of those least served in the Rio Texas Conference area of The United Methodist Church in order to fulfill its mission of "Serving Humanity to Honor God." The mission includes Methodist Healthcare Ministries' one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System, the largest healthcare system in South Texas, which creates a unique avenue to ensure it continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all and charitable care when needed. For more information, visit www.mhm.org.