R.I. Foundation awards nearly $300K in health care funding

NEIL D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, speaks at an event Friday where eight local organizations were awarded $295,378 in funding through its RIGHA Foundation Fund. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION
NEIL D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, speaks at an event Friday where eight local organizations were awarded $295,378 in funding through its RIGHA Foundation Fund. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Foundation awarded $295,378 in funding to eight local organizations through its RIGHA Foundation Fund on Friday.

The funding recipients are: Hasbro Inc. ($50,000), Blackstone Community Health Care ($50,000), city of Central Falls ($50,000), Providence Center ($68,581), Thundermist Health Center ($39,500), WellOne Primary Medical and Dental Care ($28,000), Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island ($5,000) and Diabetes Education Partners of Rhode Island ($4,297).

Recipients represent an array of health care challenges facing the industry, including coverage for refugee children, diabetes awareness and addressing ethnic and racial disparities in the field.

Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, said health care grants like these help the foundation achieve one of its core strategic initiatives: “Developing an inclusive primary care system that promotes healthy lives.”

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“These grants will advance our continuing efforts to make quality health care more accessible and affordable,” he said.

The RIGHA Fund, which consists of a $1.6 million endowment and was established after Harvard Pilgrim Health Care acquired the former Rhode Island Group Health Association, was transferred to the foundation in 2010. The RIGHA Fund is bolstered by annual contributions made by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

Similar to the foundation, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has prioritized the development of an effective primary health care system.

Said Karen Voci, president of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, “Our goal is to cut the cost of delivering high quality primary health care to Rhode Islanders [and] … Philanthropic support can provide the seed funding necessary to take innovative programs like these to the next level.”

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