HCF Grants Address Inequities Stemming from Pandemic

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jeanine Gergel
216-621-2901
jgergel@fmscleveland.com

December 2, 2020

Cleveland, Ohio – At its November 2020 meeting, the board of directors of the HealthComp Foundation approved grants totaling $230,000 to support four initiatives aimed at addressing systemic inequities revealed by the COVID-19 crisis:
The specific grants awarded were as follows.

  • $70,000 to DigitalC for the development of wireless internet infrastructure for the City of Cleveland
  • $60,000 for the Cleveland Black Futures Fund, which has been created to support local, Black-led social change organizations across a range of issue areas in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties and is being administered by the Cleveland Foundation;
  • $50,000 to Legal Aid Society of Cleveland to prevent eviction and secure housing stability for families in five northeast Ohio counties (Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, and Geauga); and
  • $50,000 for the Digital Equity Fund (fiscal sponsor: the Cleveland Foundation), which provides devices, connectivity and support to enable all residents of Cuyahoga County to participate in digital learning, working and living.

“The pandemic has brought into sharp relief the systemic inequities that have caused disproportionate harm to Black and brown communities across our region,” said HealthComp Foundation Board Chair Heidi Gullett, M.D. “The board was intentional in its grantmaking this cycle in directing resources aimed at addressing the systems and structures that have led to disparities in health outcomes by race.”

In addition to the above grants, the HealthComp Foundation also released the third installment of $198,363 of its three-year $737,739 grant to Cuyahoga County Board of Health for the collaborative community health assessment project for a nine-county Northeast Ohio region.

About the HealthComp Foundation: The HealthComp Foundation was established in 2016 utilizing funding from a prior business venture of The Center for Health Affairs’ for-profit affiliate, HealthComp, Inc. In creating the foundation, The Center and its members seek to reinvest in the Northeast Ohio community by supporting collaborative work that will make a positive impact. The Foundation’s mission is to accelerate a healthy community through high-quality healthcare services, community partnerships and investment. Its vision is to foster a future norm where healthcare collaboration promotes health equity in the community.

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