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CONTACT: Leah Garrett,
lgarrett@cohdc.org, 202.407.7780
www.communityofhopedc.org
Community Hope Receives Funding Award from Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity
WASHINGTON, August 31, 2021— Community Hope is pleased to announce that it was included among the awardees of the first round of grants issued by Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity, which mobilizes financial resources for community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and other nonprofit organizations focused on non-clinical interventions that affect a person’s health – commonly known as the social determinants of health, these factors include a person’s physical, social, political, cultural, and economic environments.
This first round of grants were awarded nationally with support from the AbbVie Foundation, which seeded the Fund for Health Equity with a donation totaling $10 million as part of its commitment to support underserved Black and other communities across the United States.
“This initial round of grants from the AbbVie Foundation and Direct Relief recognizes organizations like Community Hope that are in the trenches every day supporting their communities which are impacted the most in terms of health disparities,” said Dr. Byron Scott, MD, MBA, Co-Chair of the Fund for Health Equity and Board Director of Direct Relief and Chair of its Medical Advisory Council. “I am humbled that both AbbVie and Direct Relief can help these organizations with their goals of improving health and wellness, including eliminating health inequities.”
Community Hope was awarded a grant to enhance patient services and health outcomes in Ward 8, a medically underserved, majority Black population that faces some of the highest rates of chronic disease in the DC region. Funds will be used to increase the health coaching skills and team-based strategies for its Medical Assistants and nurses. The result will be increased preventative services for our patients with chronic diseases or at high-risk of chronic disease.
“We are so pleased to be included in this advancement of health equity and have been anticipating an opportunity of this nature to sustainably strengthen our team-based care model and allow our committed nurses and medical assistants to advance their care management,” said Kelly Sweeney McShane, President and CEO, Community of Hope.
“We are proud to support Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity and these community-focused organizations that will lead the way in improving care in many communities,” said Laura Schumacher, Vice Chairman, External Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, AbbVie. “This is just the first step as the Fund continues to identify more organizations across the country that are addressing health disparities through evidence-based programs and interventions.”
The first round of funding, which totals $1.8 million, also went to the following organizations for their efforts to enhance workforce diversification, reduce health disparities, and expand innovative models of care:
- Roanoke Chowan Community Health – North Carolina
- Institute for Family Health – New York
- Martin Luther King Health Center and Pharmacy – Louisiana
- Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services – Mississippi
- Eskenazi Health – Indiana
- Good Samaritan Health Center – Georgia
- Health Brigade – Virginia
- Delaware Valley Community Health, Inc. – Pennsylvania
- The Night Ministry – Illinois
ABOUT COMMUNITY OF HOPE
Founded in 1980, Community of Hope is a rapidly growing, innovative, and mission-driven nonprofit. Our team of over 350 caring, dedicated staff members provides housing, healthcare and supportive services for low-income families in Washington, DC. We work to improve health access and equity in Washington, DC. We operate three community health centers, offering medical, dental and emotional wellness as well as extensive patient supportive services which reached almost over 11,000 people in 2020. We also work to end and prevent family homelessness in Washington, DC and are the only nonprofit in DC providing all services along the homelessness continuum, having impacted over 1,100 families in 2020.
