RELEASE

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation Awards More Than $760,000 in Grants to Improve Health Care in Michigan  

by Meghan O'Brien

| 2 min read

Children's' hands in a circle
DETROIT, Oct. 25, 2016The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation recently awarded more than $760,000 to support research and community programs that identify and address critical issues affecting the health of Michigan residents. “Our 36-year history of grant funding has resulted in enhancements to the quality of care and improved patient safety and access to care for the people of Michigan,” said Audrey Harvey, vice president at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and executive director and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. “We are proud to support researchers, doctors and organizations across the state as they work to find solutions for health needs in their communities.” The grants offered by the Blue Cross Foundation are categorized to allow for a wide range of applicants and ideas:
  • Community Health Matching Program: Three community-based nonprofit organizations in Michigan will use these grants to develop, test or validate new techniques and programs to address the needs of its community members and produce a tangible effect in their lives.
  • Integrated Care Program: Six grants were awarded to Michigan-based safety net providers that serve the uninsured and underinsured and will use these grants to integrate behavioral health services like mental health and substance abuse services, into a primary care setting.
  • Investigator Initiated Programs: Four Michigan researchers will use these grants to turn theory into data, and data into knowledge. These grantees often go on to be published in scholarly journals, academic circles and community platforms that inform and shape future thought and improvement.
  • Physician Investigator Research Award Program: Four Michigan physicians will use these grants to support their studies to address unmet health needs and unsatisfactory medical practices to improve the delivery and quality of patient care.
  • Student Award Program: Forty-two Michigan students will receive these grants in recognition of their work to create effective and efficient solutions to the many health issues that people contend with every day.
The Blue Cross Foundation gives nearly $2 million each year in grants to research quality, cost and access to health care. The funding spans the state, from the metro-Detroit area to the communities of the Upper Peninsula. An overview of the recipients of the BCBSM Foundation grants is below:
  Community Health Matching Program Total funding: $124,000
$50,000 Corporation for Supportive Housing Integrating Health and Housing Models with Medicaid Reimbursement
$24,400 Mariners Inn Mariners Inn Integrated Care Program
$50,000 Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance (MiCHWA) Building Capacity for Community Health Worker Curriculum Instruction
  Integrated Care Program  Total funding: $535,000 Note: Funding for the integrated care program is a result of a unique partnership between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, Ethal and James Finn Foundation and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Of the total funding, $200,000 was provided by the BCBSM Foundation.
$75,000 Mackinac Straits Health System Integrated Stabilization Recovery Program
$75,000 InterCare Community Health Network MAT Care Coordination in an Integrated Primary Care Setting
$96,250 Baldwin Family Health Center Optimize Therapeutic Outcomes in Behavioral Health Patients through Improvements in Medication Counseling
$96,250 Munson Healthcare Charlevoix Hospital Foundation Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care Program
$96,250 Covenant Community Care Inc. Covenant Health Home Program
$96,250 Catherine’s Health Center and Health Intervention Services Grand Rapids Integrated Care Collaborative Serving Vulnerable Populations in an Urban Setting  
  Investigator Initiated Program Total funding: $277,418
$64,000 Oakland University School of Health Sciences Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Identification of and Treatment for Depression Among Arab, Asian, Black, Hispanic and White Patients
$75,000 University of Michigan College of Engineering Prosthetic Sockets for Transtibial Amputees with Heterotopic Ossification
$63,418 Wayne State University College of Nursing Pilot Testing an Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Pregnant Black Women
$75,000 Wayne State University Department of Internal Medicine Effect of Smoking Cessation on the Activity of Rheumatoid Arthritis
  Physician Investigator Initiated Program Total funding: $39,998
$10,000 University of Michigan Robert Woods Johnson Clinical Scholars Program What Matters Most? Identifying Key Elements of a Home-Based Palliative Program in Michigan
$9,998 William Beaumont Research Institute Internal Medicine Text Messaging to Promote Healthy Lifestyle Change and Weight Loss: Does the Addiction of Text Messaging Enhance Weight Loss in a Medically-Supervised Group Program
$10,000 University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery Evaluating Quantitative Pupillometry in Athletes as a Biomarker of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
$10,000 University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine Exploring Women’s Acceptance and Priorities for Components of a Contraception Intervention in the Emergency Department: A Mixed Methods Study
  Student Award Program Total Funding: $126,000, Funding per student: $3,000
  Central Michigan University Yisheng Cao, Open versus Endoscopic Surgery for Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Allison Nosotti, Reliability of Standing versus Sitting Computerized Dynamic Posturograhy for Vestibular Testing Derek Pierce, Evaluating Patient Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Conditions for Opioid versus Non0Opioid Therapy   Eastern Michigan University Meagan Carr, Recognizing Addictive Disorders Study David Phillips, The Effect of Reading Based Scanning Habits on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale’s Processing Speed Index Performance Ana-Mercedes Flores, PediaTrac: Tool to Screen for Risk Factors and Toddlers-Cross Sectional Pilot Study Bethany Gourley, Exploring the Relationship between Anxiety Sensitivity and Heart Rate Variability Ketrin Lengu, Neural Correlates and Predictors of Social Development among Preterm Infants Explored with Functioning Near Infrared Spectroscopy Kaitlin Oswald, Motor Functioning in Childhood Survivors of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia   Michigan State University Salmah Awad Alghamdi, Factors Associated with Breastfeeding Practice among Saudi Arabian Mothers Anotinia Garcia, Emotion Regulation and Associated Health Problems in Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence Shannon O’Connor, Unraveling the Dynamic Interplay Between Genetic and Environmental Risk for Eating Disorders Fayana Richards, Mother Again: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren as a Case Study in Michigan   Michigan Technological Institute Matthew Kilgas, Restoring Quadriceps Function Following ACL Reconstruction with Blood Flow Restricted Exercise Kevin Phillips, Muscle Architecture and Neuromuscular Fatigue in Middle-Aged Obese Adults   University of Detroit Mercy Rhunell Adams, Raising the Level of Geriatric Competency through Inter-Agency Collaborate Initiatives   Wayne State University (cont.) Sally Villasenor, Overcoming the Barriers: Implementation of e-Prescribing in Urgent Care Tracy Wunderlich, Medical Education and End of Life Care: The Merging of Medical Worlds   Western Michigan University Monica Baretto, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Focused Brief Intervention for Health-Related Behaviors Raju Chowdhary, Patterns in Screening and Follow Up of Diabetes Related Imbalance in Primary Care: An Exploratory Study Neil Deochand, Visual Feedback on Hand Washing Behaviors in Students Justin Moore, Examination of Breath Counting Training and Self-Compassion Training with Adolescents JoAnne O’Rourke, Equipment Purchase for Neurofeedback Intervention Study Alberta Stover, Using the County Health Rankings Model to Analyze Health Outcomes at the Neighborhood Level: Development of an Algorithm for within County Rankings Nurjannah, Mapping Diabetes Deaths and Risk     University of Michigan Owen Brown, Matched Control Assessment of a Preoperative Optimization Project Andrew Pomerville, Evaluation of a Pilot Program to support Urban American Indian Health Sara Stein, Understanding Women’s Engagement with Multiple Violent Intimate Partners   Wayne State University Maha Albdour, Ara American Adolescents Bulling Experience and Effects on their Health and Perceived Stress Dalia Alhasanat, Postpartum Depression and Acculturation among U.S. Immigrant Women of Arabic Descent Samayya Attaallah, Identifying Influential Factors Affecting Heart Failure Self-Care in Arab American Older Adults Faezeh Babieasl, Myocardial Infarction Related Symptoms Experienced by Middle Eastern Women Living in the U.S. Maryam Jafari Bidgoli, Health Shocks and Labor Market; Cancer in Michigan Angelia Corley, Emotional Validation: Reinforcing or Relieving Pain? Andrew Heizer, Prenatal Burden and Neuropsychological Outcomes in Preterm Born Preschoolers Logayn Hussamaldin, The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Children by Mothers of Arabic Descent Bobbi Isaac, The Influence of Diabetes on Long-Term Outcomes for Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury Robert Kanser, Classification of Simulated versus Bona Fide Traumatic Brain Injury Using Response Time on a Performance Validity Test Claude Launderbach, Improving Use of Guidelines for Weight Management in a Primary Care Setting Factors by School Districts to Inform School-Based Prevention Kiel Opperman, Detroit People and Transitions in Houseing-3: Changes in the Composition and Service Needs of the Homeless Population Derek Pierce, Evaluating Patient Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Conditions for Opioid versus Non-Opioid Therapy Nicholas Seivert, Impact of Stress on Social and Emotional Competence in Clinically Referred Children with and without ADHD Lauren Sparks, Barriers to and Predictors of Healthcare Utilization for Low-Income Urban Families Sara Stein, Understanding Women’s Engagement with Multiple Violent Intimate Partners      
Photo credit: SOMBILON PHOTOGRAPY

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

0 Comments

MI Blues Perspectives is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association