Putting some teeth in those grants: the Central Mass.Health Foundation at five years
Recent studies and findings that dental health has an impact on overall health might come as news to some, but it’s something that the grantmakers at The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts have known for years. Since its inception, the THFCM has concentrated on giving more Central Mass. residents access to the basics of health care, to improve overall quality of life over the long term. But just as important, the foundation wants to ensure that the programs it funds will be sustainable after its grants end.
THFCM isn’t your typical non-profit foundation. It’s a 501(c)4 corporation, which, unlike a 501(c)3, is allowed to lobby directly for public policy change. The Oral Health Caucus, a legislative group formed late last year by state lawmakers and chaired from the Senate side by Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) addresses oral health issues such as statewide water fluoridation.The Caucus made strides in getting state lawmakers to restore $4 million for Medicaid adult dental benefits to 45,000 pregnant women and new mothers – an important victory because a recent study shows that pregnant women’s dental health can affect their unborn children. Late last year, lawmakers approved restoration of comprehensive dental benefits for all Medicaid-eligible adults as part of the state’s health care reform legislation (see cover story). Additionally, the Caucus advocated for legislation allowing dentists practicing in Massachusetts to determine how many Medicaid patients they’ll accept. The previous take-one-take-all policy - as well as the system’s slow reimbursement process – had discouraged dentists from taking any Medicaid patients. The Caucus is now working to bring in a third-party administrator to handle the state’s Medicaid claims so that dentists get paid in a timely manner. The expectation is that by July, that initiative will be funded.
THFCM has granted about $9.8 million over the five years it’s been in operation. Its initial strategic plan was to invest 80 percent of its grant funds for its Health Care and Health Promotion Synergy Initiative. At yearend 2005, about 77 percent of its total grants, or $7,480, 457, supported four multi-year grants, with 47 percent supporting oral health projects, 17 percent supporting child abuse prevention/protection, and 20 percent supporting mental health initiatives, mostly for children.
The remaining 20 percent of its grant funds were to target smaller, single-year projects. An example is the dental laboratory at Great Brook Valley Health Center in Worcester.
THFCM’s attention to policy comes from the experience that throwing grant money at a health care initiative that’s part of an unsupportive system results in diminishing returns when the grants stop. The two oral health projects, CMOHI and OHIINCM, acknowledge that the programs they support will only be sustainable, post-grant, if providers are reimbursed adequately. "If there’s a theme, it’s that we try to focus on a few issues and stay with them long-term and implement system change, so there will be sustainability after the grants end," Yost says.
THFCM is marking its first five years of grantmaking with an evaluation report, published last December, that chronicles its programs and achievements. On March 30, the foundation will make a formal presentation of its first five years of grant activity at Mechanics Hall.
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