Foundations
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from U.S. foundations.
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Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act Is Not Better for Kidney Patients
WASHINGTON, June 23 -- The National Kidney Foundation issued the following news release:
The National Kidney Foundation opposes the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act. This bill will significantly reduce access to vital, preventive and life-saving care for people at risk of, or with, chronic kidney disease.
Despite assurances that people with pre-existing conditions could still purchase insurance in the Marketplaces, this bill allows states to eliminate the essential health benefits currently provided under the Affordable Care Act, and permits insurers to discriminate against people with
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WASHINGTON, June 23 -- The National Kidney Foundation issued the following news release:
The National Kidney Foundation opposes the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act. This bill will significantly reduce access to vital, preventive and life-saving care for people at risk of, or with, chronic kidney disease.
Despite assurances that people with pre-existing conditions could still purchase insurance in the Marketplaces, this bill allows states to eliminate the essential health benefits currently provided under the Affordable Care Act, and permits insurers to discriminate against people withpre-existing conditions by not covering vital medications and treatments they need to manage their conditions. For kidney patients, this could include treatments such dialysis or transplantation and medications.
In addition, National Kidney Foundation is concerned about the significant changes and cuts to Medicaid, which could leave many low-income people without access to health insurance and health care services, including preventive care necessary for slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease. Nearly one-third of people with kidney failure are enrolled in Medicaid (most being dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid). As state Medicaid budgets are tightened across the nation, states may look to reduce the populations they cover and eliminate expensive, but critical, benefits like dialysis treatments. Once kidneys fail, dialysis or a kidney transplant are needed just to stay alive.
NKF acknowledges that improvements in access to, and affordability of, healthcare are needed to address the many challenges kidney patients face today. We urge Congress and the Administration to address the following challenges in their plans to improve access to affordable healthcare:
* Access to healthcare is critical to earlier detection and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Earlier detection and management can often delay or prevent progression of chronic kidney disease and the need for dialysis treatment, improve outcomes for patients and lower healthcare expenditures. NKF urges Congress to enact policies that maintain or increase the number of insured patients, which will enable earlier detection of CKD.
* People with end stage renal disease (ESRD) require either a kidney transplant or dialysis to survive. As such, insurers should be required to cover these treatments and be prohibited from limiting coverage to people with ESRD who choose not to enroll in Medicare.
* Over 200,000 ESRD patients have received a life-saving kidney transplant and must take immunosuppressive drugs for the life of the transplant.
* The insurance practice of placing immunosuppressive medications, including generics, on high cost sharing tiers requiring coinsurance amounts of greater than 20 percent and up to 50 percent, while also excluding generic immunosuppressive medications from fixed copayment amounts, severely jeopardizes the long-term success of the transplant.
* Cutting back on, or skipping doses of, immunosuppressive medications can be detrimental to the transplant and the patient.
* Each year Medicare spends $87,000 per dialysis patient; opposed to $32,500 for a transplant patient. Transplantation is far more cost effective and is associated with better outcomes than a lifetime of dialysis.
* In addition, as a member of the National Health Council (NHC), NKF supports its domains and values for health care reform as these are essential to ensuring that people with chronic conditions can obtain, and afford, insurance.
Promising Clinical Trials in 2017
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 23 -- The International Myeloma Foundation issued the following news:
The flurry of new drug approvals at the end of 2015 for Darzalex(R) (daratumumab), Ninlaro(R) (ixazomib), and Empliciti(R) (elotuzumab) left the myeloma community wondering what could possibly be next. While there have been no new drug approvals since that 2015 windfall, clinical trials have resulted in expanded indications for previously approved drugs, including:
* November 2016 - expanded approval of Darzalex, which now includes the combination therapies Darzalex + Velcade(R) (bortezomib)
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NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 23 -- The International Myeloma Foundation issued the following news:
The flurry of new drug approvals at the end of 2015 for Darzalex(R) (daratumumab), Ninlaro(R) (ixazomib), and Empliciti(R) (elotuzumab) left the myeloma community wondering what could possibly be next. While there have been no new drug approvals since that 2015 windfall, clinical trials have resulted in expanded indications for previously approved drugs, including:
* November 2016 - expanded approval of Darzalex, which now includes the combination therapies Darzalex + Velcade(R) (bortezomib)+ dexamethasone (based on the CASTOR trial) and Darzalex + Revlimid(R) (lenalidomide) + dexamethasone (based on the POLLUX trial) for patients who have had at least one prior therapy.
* February 2017 - the official approval of Revlimid as post-autologous transplant maintenance therapy both by the FDA in the US and by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Europe. The basis for these approvals was overall survival (OS) data from two large randomized trials, one of which was conducted in the US, the other in France.
Now we are focusing not only on expanded approvals for existing drugs, but on potential new approvals for agents still in clinical trials. We are eager to see if they might fill specific "unmet needs" in the myeloma treatment armamentarium. Drugs to treat patients who are "penta-refractory" to Revlimid, Pomalyst(R) (pomalidomide), Velcade, Kyprolis(R) (carfilzomib), and an anti-CD 38 monoclonal antibody (either the approved agent Darzalex or the experimental agent isatuximab, also known as SAR650984) are high on the wish list, as are drugs that can target specific high-risk genetic mutations. Trials of combination regimens designed to cure patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) are also a priority, and are in process in America and in Europe.
"Cure Trials"
The IMF is proud to be the sponsor of a number of trials that are, or soon will be, taking place in the US, Europe, and Asia to meet unmet needs around the globe. Already under way in multiple centers in Spain through the Spanish clinical trials group PETHEMA is the Black Swan Research Initiative(R)-sponsored CESAR trial (NCT02415413), a study of Kyprolis + Revlimid + dexamethasone (KRd) followed by high-dose therapy with melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), followed by consolidation with KRd, and maintenance with Revlimid + dexamethasone in patients under 65 years with high-risk SMM. CESAR is the first of two myeloma "cure trials" that will attempt to treat high-risk SMM early, intensively, and effectively. The goal is for every patient to achieve sustained MRD-negative status. The CESAR trial has been actively accruing patients for almost two years.
The second of the Black Swan-sponsored cure trials for patients with high-risk SMM, the ASCENT trial, is scheduled to open soon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It is not yet listed on the clinicaltrials.gov database. In this two-arm trial all patients will receive four cycles of KRd + daratumumab, and then patients who are eligible for high-dose melphalan with ASCT will proceed to transplant, while those who are ineligible will receive four more cycles of KRd + daratumumab. All patients in both arms of the study will receive another four cycles of KRd + dara at reduced doses as consolidation, and then all patients will receive maintenance therapy for one year with even lower doses of Kyprolis + Revlimid + daratumumab. We will announce the official opening of the trial and the addition of sites via the IMF's weekly e-newsletter Myeloma Minute, and via our website myeloma.org.
The IMF is also sponsoring two trials through its Asian Myeloma Network (AMN). Both trials are designed to meet the needs of patients in seven Asian countries/regions plus Australia and New Zealand, where access to treatments is quite limited outside the context of a clinical trial. Planned to launch later in 2017 are two randomized studies for patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma. The first of these is a phase II study of different Kyprolis doses in combination with cyclophosphamide + dexamethasone for patients who have had prior exposure to Velcade. This trial will enroll 50 patients in Asia and 50 patients in Australia and New Zealand. The second randomized trial, which will accrue 120 patients in Asia, is a phase III study comparing Pomalyst + cyclophosphamide + dexamethasone with Pomalyst + dexamethasone.
Venetoclax
AbbVie and Genentech's venetoclax (known as Venclexta(R) in the US and Venclyxto(R) in Europe) has been approved as a treatment for CLL patients with the 17p- chromosomal mutation, but is still experimental for patients with myeloma. Data presented on a monotherapy study and a combination study of venetoclax + Velcade at ASH 2016 demonstrated venetoclax's efficacy as a single agent when targeted to myeloma patients with the t(11;14) mutation, making it the first therapy for myeloma that successfully targets a particular genetic mutation. The study of venetoclax + Velcade showed efficacy across a wider spectrum of patients, with a 68 percent overall response rate (ORR) and a very good partial response (VGPR) rate of 40 percent.
The largest currently recruiting venetoclax trial is a randomized phase III study of venetoclax + Vd versus Vd for patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma who have either not yet had a proteasome inhibitor or are still sensitive to them. This study is currently accruing patients at 89 sites around the world, including the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Spain, Taiwan, and the UK (NCT02755597). A second randomized study of venetoclax in combination with a proteasome inhibitor is the phase II study of venetoclax + Kyprolis + dexamethasone versus Kyprolis + dexamethasone for patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma who have had 1-3 prior lines of therapy and who are proteasome inhibitor-naive or -sensitive. It is currently recruiting patients at seven US sites (NCT02899052).
Small phase I trials of venetoclax in combination with an experimental antibody-drug conjugate (ABBV-838) and as monotherapy for patients with a range of hematologic malignancies are available in Australia (NCT02951117) and Japan (NCT02265731).
Anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy
Interest remains high in chimeric antigen-receptor T-cells (CAR-T cell), particularly in those designed to target the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), which is heavily expressed on the surface of myeloma cells. While this approach is known to be very effective, it can also trigger an immune system response called cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which, when severe, can be fatal. Six phase I anti-BCMA CAR-T cell trials are currently recruiting patients at sites in the US, Canada, Europe, and China. Sponsors of these trials range from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK2857916; trial identifier NCT02064387) to bluebird bio (bb2121; NCT02658929), to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (EGFR+/BCMA-41BBz CAR T-cell; NCT03070327), to the NCI (cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, and anti-BCMA CAR T-cells; NCT02215967), to the University of Pennsylvania (CART-BCMA, NCT02546167), to Southwest Hospital in Chongqing, China (anti-BCMA-CAR-transduced T-cells; NCT02954445). All but the GSK2857916 and bb2121 trials are single-center studies. GSK2857916 is enrolling patients at five US sites, one site in Canada, and one site in the UK, while the bb2121 study is recruiting patients at nine US sites.
Check-point inhibitors
Because of their striking efficacy in other formerly intractable cancers, hopes have been high that check-point inhibitors, which unleash powerful immune responses, would be equally effective in myeloma. Trials for relapsed and refractory myeloma patients pairing immunomodulatory agents Revlimid or Pomalyst with pembrolizumab were promising, but the results were not comparable to those in advanced melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, or squamous cell cancer of the head and neck, indications for which pembrolizumab is now approved (with the brand name Keytruda(R)). Now the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin are collaborating on a phase II trial using pembrolizumab for six months following ASCT along with ongoing Revlimid maintenance therapy in an attempt to increase response depth and duration (NCT02331368). The trial is open to patients with any stage of myeloma who are ASCT-eligible. The study is currently enrolling patients only at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The other check-point inhibitor trial now being conducted for patients with myeloma is a phase III randomized, but non-blinded, study of combinations of nivolumab (brand name Opdivo(R), approved for metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck) + Empliciti (elotuzumab(R)) + Pomalyst + dexamethasone compared to Pomalyst + dexamethasone (Pd) alone. The trial, called "CheckMate 602" (NCT02726581), is for patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma. Subjects in the control arm (Pd) are allowed to cross over to the exploratory arm (nivolumab + Empliciti + Pd) if their disease progresses. 126 study locations will enroll participants in the US, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Selinexor
Karyopharm Pharmaceuticals' experimental agent, selinexor, is the first in a new drug class that prevents the export of tumor suppressor genes from the nuclei of cancer cells. Approximately 2,000 myeloma patients have been studied thus far in clinical trials with selinexor. Recently, the FDA placed a hold on all trials with selinexor so that all trial-related documents, including the patient informed consent form, can be updated with a more complete list of serious side effects that have occurred during selinexor clinical trials. Side effects, which can be serious, include diarrhea, vomiting, and low blood counts. The trials will re-open if the FDA approves the updated information, which has already been submitted.
Two selinexor trials will be actively recruiting myeloma patients in 2017. The first of these trials is an expansion of the phase II STORM trial, which tested selinexor + dexamethasone in patients who were either quad-refractory (to Velcade, Revlimid, Kyprolis, and Pomalyst) or penta-refractory (to the preceding drugs plus an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody). The expansion "phase IIb" part of this trial is accruing an additional 122 penta-refractory subjects (those who have exhausted all the most effective approved therapies). STORM is already recruiting at 23 sites in the US. In the coming months, additional trial sites will be opened in the US, as well as in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Greece. For updates, keep checking matrix.myeloma.org and enter the clinicaltrials.gov identifier number NCT02336815 in the search box.
Pending FDA trial design approval, the BOSTON trial will soon be accruing myeloma patients in early relapse. BOSTON is a sequel to the 33-patient, three-arm, phase I STOMP trial, in which selinexor was evaluated in combination with Velcade, Revlimid, or Pomalyst in patients who had heavily pretreated relapsed and/or refractory myeloma. Data from STOMP demonstrated that the combination of selinexor + Velcade + dexamethasone (SVd) is both highly effective and well tolerated: for the 16 heavily pretreated patients in the Velcade + dexamethasone arm of the trial, the overall response rate was 77 percent; the patients who were not refractory to prior therapy with a proteasome inhibitor had a 100 percent response rate. The BOSTON trial, in which the plan is to accrue 362 patients who have had at least one prior therapy and randomize them to receive either Velcade + dexamethasone (Vd) or SVd. Both oral selinexor and subcutaneous Velcade will be given once a week, with dexamethasone given at 20mg the day of, and the day after, Velcade. Patients who progress on Vd will be allowed to cross over into the SVd arm of the study. If approved for accrual, trial sites are expected to open in the US and Canada in April; 17 countries in Europe are expected to begin accruing patients in June or July.
2017 Sabbatical Deadline Set for October 1
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 23 -- The Rasmuson Foundation issued the following news release:
Alaska-based nonprofit and tribal executives interested in Rasmuson Foundation's Sabbatical Program have until October 1 to apply. Now entering its 13th year, the program offers awards up to $40,000 to cover salary and expenses incurred during a three- to six-month sabbatical.
Healthy nonprofit leaders are crucial to Alaska, yet many work in environments where the need is great but human and financial resources are thin. The stress and long hours can strain professionals. A sabbatical provides time away
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 23 -- The Rasmuson Foundation issued the following news release:
Alaska-based nonprofit and tribal executives interested in Rasmuson Foundation's Sabbatical Program have until October 1 to apply. Now entering its 13th year, the program offers awards up to $40,000 to cover salary and expenses incurred during a three- to six-month sabbatical.
Healthy nonprofit leaders are crucial to Alaska, yet many work in environments where the need is great but human and financial resources are thin. The stress and long hours can strain professionals. A sabbatical provides time awayfrom the office for personal growth and renewal.
The nonprofits also benefit when their leaders engage in an extended leave. Their time off energizes the organization and allows for the development of new perspectives.
Executives from tribes and all nonprofit sectors are eligible to apply. Applicants must be Alaskan residents with at least five years in the sector and at least three years in the position of CEO, president, executive director or tribal administrator.
The application requires a written plan for how the organization will be managed in the leader's absence and a letter from the organization's board endorsing its executive's decision to apply for the sabbatical.
The primary criteria for selection are: 1) the benefit of the sabbatical to the individual and the organization; 2) demonstrated ability of the organization to sustain itself in the executive's absence; and 3) the executive's demonstrated level of performance and leadership within the organization. Personal interviews with finalists play a major role in the decision process. The process is competitive.
Since the first sabbaticals were awarded in 2005, 72 Alaskans have participated. Search past recipients here and watch the video "Go For It." Guidelines and application materials are available at the Foundation's website or by calling (907) 297-2700 or toll free (within Alaska) at 1-877-366-2700. Leaders can also be nominated (by anyone) online. Individuals nominated must also complete and submit an application.
UNC Charlotte Earns FIRE's Highest Rating for Free Speech
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 22 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education issued the following news release:
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has earned the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's (FIRE's) highest, "green light" rating for its commitment to the First Amendment. The state of North Carolina now has five institutions with this rating, more than any other state.
"UNC Charlotte is showing a sincere commitment to free speech -- a commitment that only a few dozen colleges and universities nationwide have made," said Laura Beltz, FIRE's policy reform program
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CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 22 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education issued the following news release:
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has earned the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's (FIRE's) highest, "green light" rating for its commitment to the First Amendment. The state of North Carolina now has five institutions with this rating, more than any other state.
"UNC Charlotte is showing a sincere commitment to free speech -- a commitment that only a few dozen colleges and universities nationwide have made," said Laura Beltz, FIRE's policy reform programofficer. "FIRE is thrilled at the progress in North Carolina and around the country, and looks forward to working with more colleges to protect student and faculty speech rights."
After UNC Charlotte student Savannah Soto asked her university's administration to revise its speech codes in accordance with FIRE's recommendations, the 28,700-student university reformed three policies to meet the criteria for a green light rating.
UNC Charlotte joins 31 other colleges and universities that earn a green light rating because their written policies do not imperil student and faculty expression, according to FIRE's Spotlight database. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina Central University earned green light status in May, joining Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as North Carolina's five institutions with FIRE's highest rating for campus free speech.
"A key component of UNC Charlotte's institutional mission is to promote a robust intellectual environment that values social and cultural diversity, free expression, collegiality, integrity, and mutual respect," said UNC Charlotte Vice Chancellor and General Counsel Jesh Humphrey. "FIRE's green light rating is a public recognition of our progress toward that goal, and of our commitment to uphold individual rights while cultivating a community in which those rights are exercised thoughtfully, responsibly, and constructively."
To learn more about the state of free speech on college campuses, see FIRE's "Spotlight on Speech Codes 2017" report.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending liberty, freedom of speech, due process, academic freedom, legal equality, and freedom of conscience on America's college campuses.
TPPF Releases Analysis of Senate Bill's Failure to Repeal Obamacare, Fix Healthcare
AUSTIN, Texas, June 22 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release:
Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a summary of the U.S. Senate leadership's Better Care Reconciliation Act. The summary, by TPPF Senior Healthcare Analyst Chris Jacobs, provides a detailed breakdown of the draft legislation that aims to repeal and replace Obamacare.
To see the full summary, please visit: http://txpo.li/2sGHDnM
TPPF released the following statements regarding the bill:
From TPPF's Center for Tenth Amendment Action Director Chip Roy:
"Today, the Senate released
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AUSTIN, Texas, June 22 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release:
Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a summary of the U.S. Senate leadership's Better Care Reconciliation Act. The summary, by TPPF Senior Healthcare Analyst Chris Jacobs, provides a detailed breakdown of the draft legislation that aims to repeal and replace Obamacare.
To see the full summary, please visit: http://txpo.li/2sGHDnM
TPPF released the following statements regarding the bill:
From TPPF's Center for Tenth Amendment Action Director Chip Roy:
"Today, the Senate releasedits version of the American Health Care Act. Simply put, the bill doubles down on the fundamentally flawed architecture of Obamacare and if implemented, will neither increase the actual care available to the people nor drive down the cost of care or insurance. It maintains Obamacare's subsidy regime, retains almost the entirety of the regulatory architecture driving up people's premiums and deductibles, continues the previous Administration's unconstitutional bailouts to insurers, and maintains the Medicaid expansion for five more years before slowly attempting to reform the program."
From TPPF's Center for Tenth Amendment Action Senior Federal Policy Analyst Drew White:
"While many of the Medicaid reforms are welcome, these reforms occur too many years down the line and are far from guaranteed to be implemented. If this bill passes, Obamacare will effectively be permanently enshrined as law. This is not what Congress has promised the American people and will only pave the way for a government-run, single payer system. The Senate should, simply put, start over."
Chris Jacobs is a Senior Healthcare Policy Analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Chip Roy is the director of the Center for Tenth Amendment Action at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Drew White is the senior federal policy analyst in the Center for Tenth Amendment Action at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas. The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to advance a societal framework that effectively fosters human flourishing based upon cooperation and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and speech.
NAF Awards 11 National Scholarships
NEW YORK, June 22 -- The National Academy Foundation issued the following news release:
Eleven NAF seniors have earned a coveted NAF scholarship. NAF's scholarship opportunities inspire the next generation of future leaders to pursue their college aspirations. Scholarships were awarded to high school seniors and graduates of NAF academies who plan to enroll full-time in post-secondary education. Approximately $20,000 was available in scholarship funds for this year.
NAF's scholarships are made possible through partnerships with Marriott International, American Express, and NAF Board Member
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NEW YORK, June 22 -- The National Academy Foundation issued the following news release:
Eleven NAF seniors have earned a coveted NAF scholarship. NAF's scholarship opportunities inspire the next generation of future leaders to pursue their college aspirations. Scholarships were awarded to high school seniors and graduates of NAF academies who plan to enroll full-time in post-secondary education. Approximately $20,000 was available in scholarship funds for this year.
NAF's scholarships are made possible through partnerships with Marriott International, American Express, and NAF Board Memberand CEO of Promontory Financial Group, LLC, Eugene A. Ludwig.
NAF congratulates this year's scholarship winners:
NAF Alumni Business Scholarship:
Andrea Alderman - Lake Brantley HS AOF- Seminole County Public Schools, Florida
Tiffany Knowles - Merrimack HS AOF- Merrimack School District, New Hampshire
Robert Tromberg - Marjory Stoneham Douglas HS AOF- Broward County Public Schools, Florida
Nicholas Bottomley - Lake Brantley HS AOF- Seminole County Public Schools, Florida
Emma Ostler - Eastern Idaho Professional Technical HS AOF- Idaho Falls School District 91, Idaho
Marriott International AOIT:
Keren Herran - Springbrook High School AOIT - Montgomery County School District, Maryland
Mercy Akede - Springbrook High School - AOIT - Montgomery County School District, Maryland
Mardokay Mosazghi - Springbrook High School - AOIT - Montgomery County School District, Maryland
Marriott International Inc. AOHT:
Arianna Temple - Peoria Unified School District Academy of Hospitality and Tourism- Peoria Unified School District #11, Arizona
Mercedes Rosales - Homestead Senior High School AOHT- Miami-Dade County Public Schools Florida
Manucshka Jean - Homestead Senior High School AOHT- Miami-Dade County Public Schools , Florida
Hospital to Target Disparities Through Pilot Project Embedding Early Intervention Staff in Pediatric Offices
HARTFORD, Conn., June 22 -- The Connecticut Health Foundation issued the following news release:
With a grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation, Connecticut Children's Medical Center will pilot a program to embed Birth to Three early intervention staff in pediatricians' offices, an arrangement aimed at improving access to services for children of color.
The grant is one of nine awarded this quarter by the Connecticut Health Foundation, the state's largest independent health philanthropy.
Although early detection and intervention are critical for children at risk of developmental disorders,
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HARTFORD, Conn., June 22 -- The Connecticut Health Foundation issued the following news release:
With a grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation, Connecticut Children's Medical Center will pilot a program to embed Birth to Three early intervention staff in pediatricians' offices, an arrangement aimed at improving access to services for children of color.
The grant is one of nine awarded this quarter by the Connecticut Health Foundation, the state's largest independent health philanthropy.
Although early detection and intervention are critical for children at risk of developmental disorders,children of color are more likely to miss the opportunity for early intervention. On average, minority children are diagnosed with autism two years later than white children, and once diagnosed, they are far less likely to receive the services of developmental pediatricians or psychologists.
As part of the $59,946 grant, Connecticut Children's will embed staff from Birth to Three - the state program that serves young children with developmental and health needs - in two pediatric offices. There, early intervention staff will provide assistance to the pediatric staff and will be available to meet face-to-face with families.
Connecticut Children's will evaluate whether this arrangement increases rates of screening, referral to early intervention, and use of Birth to Three services. It will also examine barriers to integrating early intervention services in pediatric offices and develop financial models that could support this type of program.
"Children who receive early intervention services in the statewide Birth to Three system often reach better developmental outcomes, but these services are not accessed equally. Children from certain communities, such as racial/ethnic minority or low-income communities, are identified as needing these services later, referred for these services less frequently, and receive the services less often," said Dr. Thyde Dumont-Mathieu, the project director, and a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. "It is imperative to develop and test new ways of identifying children who need early intervention and improving their access to these critical services."
The project builds on a previous Connecticut Health Foundation grant to the hospital to examine factors that increased screenings and improved families' use of Birth to Three services. That research identified a need for more systematic coordination between pediatric offices and the Birth to Three program.
"This project will allow Connecticut Children's to focus on addressing the significant disparities in access to early intervention services, and to test a model that could be replicated or built upon if it is successful," said Tiffany Donelson, vice president of program at the Connecticut Health Foundation. "We are hopeful that this approach can lead to broader change by identifying models that improve care."
OTHER GRANTS AWARDED
The grant is among nine awarded by the Connecticut Health Foundation this quarter, totaling $364,946. The others are:
Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI) (Farmington, statewide reach): $30,000
The Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut's research indicates that the optimal time to introduce healthy eating to children is from birth to age two. But there is limited research available on the responsiveness of low-income and minority families to interventions that address infant and toddler feeding. This grant will support CHDI's work on early childhood obesity prevention by helping to fund research projects on dietary interventions to prevent obesity in infants and toddlers from low-income and minority families.
Connecticut State Medical Society (North Haven; statewide reach): $50,000
The medical society will establish standards for collecting data on patients' race, ethnicity, and language preference, and will pilot those recommendations. Collecting data on race, ethnicity, and language preference in health care is key for monitoring health disparities and designing interventions.
Health Equity Solutions (Hartford): $50,000
Health Equity Solutions will engage the Connecticut Health Foundation's Health Leadership Fellows Network to work toward system change through public policy advocacy. The fellows are a group of close to 200 individuals who have participated in the foundation's Health Leadership Fellows Program.
National Alliance on Mental Illness, Connecticut (NAMI-Connecticut) (Hartford; statewide reach): $25,000
NAMI-Connecticut will deepen its advocacy role in the effort to reduce health disparities. It will do so through participation in the State Innovation Model health reform effort, and through work to: integrate behavioral health services into systems that serve children, particularly schools and pediatric primary care; reduce barriers to access to culturally competent care; and improve access and delivery of services for the state's Medicaid population.
Partnership for Strong Communities (Hartford): $75,000
The Partnership for Strong Communities will investigate why people of color are underrepresented in effective programs for homeless patients known as community care teams. The teams bridge the gap between health care and other community providers to better meet the needs of patients who frequently go to the emergency department. Even though people of color are disproportionately homeless, 70 percent of those served by community care teams are white. This grant will enable the Partnership for Strong Communities to examine why fewer minorities are referred to community care teams, develop mechanisms to standardize reporting whether patients are homeless in electronic medical record systems, and recommend policies to address issues with reporting and tracking homelessness among patients.
NEW FUNDING INITIATIVE
The foundation awarded three grants under a new funding initiative intended to support community-based organizations in engaging their constituencies in organizing and grassroots advocacy efforts focused on health reform at the state and federal levels.
Christian Community Action (CCA) (New Haven): $25,000
CCA, an ecumenical social service organization, will work to help low-income New Haven-area residents advocate for health care policies that reflect the needs of their communities. CCA will focus on advocating for: 1) state-level policies that allow people with pre-existing conditions to buy health insurance; 2) state-level policies that protect consumers from lifetime limits on their health insurance benefits; 3) policies that ensure continued coverage and improved health outcomes for Medicaid clients. The organization also plans to address health care affordability.
Congregations Organized for A New Connecticut (CONECT) (New Haven and Fairfield Counties): $25,000
CONECT, an interfaith organization of 25 congregations in New Haven and Fairfield Counties, aims to provide a broad, effective consumer-oriented voice in the rapidly evolving health care landscape. It plans to work on: 1) defending progress Connecticut has made in expanding health coverage under the Affordable Care Act; 2) pressing for improvements to mental health care access and care quality; and 3) raising the consumer voice in the state insurance rate review process.
Cross Street Training and Academic Center (Middletown): $25,000
Cross Street Training and Academic Center plans to work with church leaders and congregants to participate in legislative advocacy. Congregants often turn to their churches when struggling with health care challenges or other crises, and Cross Street Training and Academic Center's previous work has identified a need for black church leaders to organize their congregations to engage in legislative advocacy. This coalition will work on: 1) policies related to community health workers; 2) protecting current Medicaid supports and funding levels; 3) reducing the use of emergency rooms in New Britain, Hartford, and Middletown by promoting community-based behavioral health services and preventive care.
