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Health Foundation, Kansas
About Us
The Kansas Health Foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. Our funding comes from an endowment created by the sale of Wesley Medical Center, and our asset base remains strong thanks to a dedicated team of advisers and investment managers. We do not solicit or accept donations. Instead, we seek opportunities to invest our resources in people and projects that meet our mission and create long-term, sustainable health improvements.
Our mission is to improve the health of all Kansans drives the Kansas Health Foundation’s work. The Foundation joins with the World Health Organization in defining health, believing that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Our focus areas – To be effective, we must focus our work. The Kansas Health Foundation is committed to supporting strategies that will make Kansas a healthier place in the long run instead of funding temporary fixes for immediate health problems. Our six focus areas are:
Promoting the healthy behaviors of Kansans – Adopting positive behaviors is known to benefit our overall health and well-being. The Foundation’s efforts in this area focus primarily on promoting three key behaviors – ensuring proper nutrition, increasing physical activity and decreasing tobacco use. The absence of these behaviors contributes to the three leading causes of death and disability in Kansas and the nation.
Focus Area Goals:
Tobacco Goal -A decrease in tobacco use and exposure among Kansans
Physical Activity Goal – An increase in the number of Kansans who engage in moderate or vigorous physical activity
Nutrition Goal – An increase in the number of Kansans who eat adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables
Strengthening the public health system – A strong public health system is vital to help protect the people from disease, disability and premature death. The Foundation seeks to strengthen and connect the critical components of the public health system in Kansas by addressing issues such as public health education, work force development for public health professionals and bioterrorism preparedness.
Focus Area Goal: Local health departments have received national accreditation
Improving access to health care for Kansas children – Work in this area focuses on ways to break down the barriers that inhibit children in Kansas from receiving the health care they need. This is the Foundation’s newest focus area and early efforts have focused on finding ways to promote enrollment and retention in the State’s Children’s Insurance Program (CHIP), known in Kansas as HealthWave.
Focus Area Goal : Increase the number of Kansas children who have adequate health care services and coverage.
Growing community philanthropy – Funding in this area is primarily used to support the Giving Resources to Our World (GROW) initiative, in which the Foundation works with community foundations throughout Kansas to ensure local resources remain local. Following the first 10 years of this program, the participating community foundations increased their assets from $19 million to about $95 million and provided $33 million in grants to their communities. The second phase of GROW will spread the benefits of strong community foundations to many more areas of Kansas.
Focus Area Goal: Increase philanthropic resources in Kansas communities
Providing health data and information to policymakers – The Foundation works to ensure that accurate, adequate and accessible information is available to public, local and state leaders and policymakers so they can make informed decisions. In 1995, the Kansas Health Institute (KHI) was established to head this effort as an independent, nonprofit health policy and research organization based in Topeka, Kansas.
Focus Area Goal: Kansas has a policymaking culture that values decisions based on evidence-informed decision-making and accountability.
Building civic leadership – For more than a decade, the Foundation has worked to nurture the skills and resources needed for individuals to make change possible in Kansas organizations and communities. Today, that work is strengthened through the partnership with the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), an organization founded by the Foundation in 2007. KLC is a Wichita-based organization dedicated to supporting and building leaders throughout the state.
Focus Area Goal: Kansans are actively and effectively engaged in improving the health of their communities.
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