Tufts Health Plan Foundation Board Approves Additional Funding for Organizations Responding to Coronavirus

$900,000 will support recovery and rebuilding in communities across the region

WATERTOWN, Mass., June 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tufts Health Plan Foundation board approved an additional $900,000 to support recovery and rebuilding efforts addressing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. The Foundation’s commitment to COVID-19 response now reaches nearly $2 million.

“Even as we grapple with the effects of the virus, we must consider future implications,” said Tom Croswell, president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan. “This crisis draws attention to deeply rooted systemic health disparities. This additional funding will support nonprofit organizations in their work to address the health and wellbeing of people in communities across the region.”

The Foundation also announced 13 new grants, totaling $1.7 million for support of collaborative community efforts and systems change to advance healthy aging.

“We need to learn from this experience,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan. “We have an opportunity to think differently about how our systems are addressing community needs and how we can change the conditions that hold problems in place.”

The new grants go to:

• Cheshire Medical Center (Keene, N.H.)
  Three-year grant for $185,000
  Supports coordination activities for broadband connectivity; aligns COVID-19 responses with Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) effort; and supports integration of age-friendly planning with activities around housing, economic opportunity and Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Cheshire Medical Center is the fiscal agent for the Leadership Council for a Healthy Monadnock.
• Connecticut Community Care (Bristol, Conn.)
  Three-year grant for $150,000
  Supports the creation of a statewide community-driven Age Well Collaborative promoting livable/age-friendly communities, healthy aging, advocacy and age-positive messaging. Connecticut Community Care is serving as the fiscal agent.
• Ethos (Southwest Boston Senior Services, Inc.) (Jamaica Plain, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $80,000
  Makes technology and virtual programming accessible for older adults to reduce isolation; provides internet access and training to older people with modest incomes.
• FSG (Boston, Mass.)
  One-year grant for $100,000
  Examines how service/response adaptations in response to COVID-19 can contribute to more inclusive and equitable age-friendly practices. This research is a collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative.
• Greater Seacoast Community Health (Somersworth, N.H.)
  Two-year grant for $120,000
  Develops a regional age-friendly plan for all of Strafford County and nearby towns in Rockingham and Carroll Counties.
• Harvard University Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (Cambridge, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $110,000
  Creates a statewide inventory of nutrition programs specifically for older people to make it easier for health care providers, payers and social service agencies to connect eligible patients to Food is Medicine services.
• Healthy Waltham (Waltham, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $100,000
  Expands Waltham Connections’ Senior Pantries to additional Housing Authority sites; increases communications around opportunities that address social isolation; and adapts the Waltham Senior Civic Academy curriculum to a virtual format. Healthy Waltham is the lead agency and fiscal sponsor for Waltham Connections.
• ONE Neighborhood Builders (Providence, R.I.)
  Two-year grant for $100,000
  Develops new design, financing mechanisms and community development options to increase the supply of accessible, affordable housing for diverse older adults.
• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (Springfield, Mass.)
  Three-year grant for $195,000
  Convenes a Pioneer Valley Age-Friendly Collaborative to engage member communities in planning for an aging population. Pioneer Valley Regional Ventures Center supports the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
• The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester Inc. (Manchester, N.H.)
  Three-year grant for $165,000
  Establishes a citywide collaborative focused on connecting and expanding access to mental health services for older adults.
• The Open Door (Gloucester, Mass.)
  One-year grant for $85,000
  Supports the rollout of a Medically Tailored Groceries program for low-income older adult clients with chronic health conditions.
• Trust for America’s Health (Washington, D.C.)
  One-year grant for $50,000
  Engages state public health and aging leaders across the New England region in a practitioners’ community to learn about and grow age-friendly efforts.
• University of Massachusetts Foundation (Lowell, Mass.)
  Three-year grant for $300,000
  Creates a citywide age-friendly initiative building community capacity to develop and implement action and evaluation plans that promote health, independence and quality of life for older residents in Lowell. The University of Massachusetts Foundation is the fiscal agent for the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

The Foundation continues a two-for-one match for donations by Tufts Health Plan employees and board members to organizations addressing the coronavirus pandemic. This match now is expanded and includes donations to nonprofits working on anti-racism and social justice efforts. Since March, more than $245,000 has been contributed to community organizations.

About Tufts Health Plan Foundation
Established in 2008, Tufts Health Plan Foundation supports the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve. The Foundation has given more than $40 million to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island nonprofits that promote healthy living with an emphasis on older people and will give more than $5 million to community organizations this year. The Foundation began funding in New Hampshire in 2016 and in Connecticut in 2019. Tufts Health Plan Foundation funds programs that move communities toward implementing age-friendly policies and practices that are relevant, focus on older people, and include them in community solutions. Visit www.tuftshealthplanfoundation.org for grant program information and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

About Tufts Health Plan
Tufts Health Plan is nationally recognized for its commitment to providing innovative, high-quality health care coverage. Staying true to our mission of improving the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve, we touch the lives of more than 1.14 million members in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut through employer-sponsored plans; Medicare; Medicaid and Marketplace plans, offering health insurance coverage across the life span regardless of age or circumstance. We are continually among the top health plans in the country based on quality and member satisfaction. Our Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO and Senior Care Options plans received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the highest rating possible.* Our commercial HMO/POS and Massachusetts PPO plans are rated 5 out of 5 – the highest rating possible – by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).** Our Medicaid plan is rated 4.5 out of a possible 5.***

To learn more about how we’re redefining what a health plan can do, visit www.tuftshealthplan.com/whatwedo. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

*Every year, Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-Star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next. For more information on plan ratings, go to www.medicare.gov. Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO plans received 5 out of 5 stars for contract years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
**NCQA’s Private Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2019–2020
***NCQA’s Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2019-2020.

CONTACT
Alrie McNiff Daniels
617-301-2715
Alrie_Daniels@tufts-health.com

Kathleen Makela
617-480-9590
Kathleen_Makela@tufts-health.com

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SOURCE Tufts Health Plan Foundation