Tufts Health Plan Foundation awards nearly $1.9 million

WATERTOWN, MA – Tufts Health Plan Foundation today announced new community investments reflecting a commitment to a community approach for making our cities and towns great places to grow up and grow old. The nearly $1.9 million supports 15 nonprofit organizations working in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

“Building communities that are responsive to the needs of older people is essential as our society ages,” said Thomas P. O’Neill, III, chair of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation board of directors. “Our investments support community-based organizations in their efforts to implement age-friendly policies and practices.”

The new grants reflect a trend of increased regional and local efforts to create age- and dementia-friendly communities, and to re-imagine the relationship to health care and community. The initiatives promote cross-sector collaboration, expand engagement of older people, advance improvements to support the health and wellbeing of older people, and address the social determinants of health.

“Each community has its own unique needs. Tufts Health Plan Foundation focuses resources in communities that want to achieve age-friendly practices that are relevant, focus on under-represented communities and engage older people in the process,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president of corporate citizenship for Tufts Health Plan. “We are proud to support organizations that are responding to the needs of older people in their communities.”

Collaboration and Community Engagement grants support community leaders in their work with multiple stakeholders toward a common goal.

• Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, Inc. (Lawrence, Mass.)Building a New England Network for Evidence-Based Healthy Aging Programs—to increase quality of and access to evidence-based programs, including falls prevention, chronic disease management, depression management, nutrition and caregiver programs. Three-year grant for $300,000.

• New Hampshire Alliance for Healthy Aging (AHA) (Concord, NH)Strengthening the NH Alliance for Healthy Aging’s Communication Capacity—to engage with AHA participants and communities effectively. The Institute on Disability of the University of New Hampshire works statewide and serves as the fiscal agent for the New Hampshire Alliance for Healthy Aging. Three-year grant for $175,000.

Systems and Best Practices grants support nonprofit organizations working to improve or build systems to support healthy living, collaborate to achieve broader impact, and scale efforts to address community needs.

• Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. (Waltham, Mass.)Building Community Engagement through Faith Outreach—to build a diverse faith-based volunteer corps and increase programming and services in diverse and underserved communities. Two-year grant for $180,000.

• Blue Hills Community Health Network Alliance (CHNA 20) (Quincy, Mass.)Blue Hills Regional Coordinating Council—to pilot a regional community transportation program in Randolph, Hull and Quincy that addresses gaps in services available to older people. Two-year grant for $108,000.

• Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) (Dover, N.H.)Alliance for Community Transportation—to increase transportation access by improving ACT’s efficiency, making services more consistent and developing a universal rider application. Three-year grant for $43,489.

• Growing Places (Leominster, Mass.)Winchendon Community Food Project for Healthy Aging—to develop a hub-and-spoke food distribution model that increases the availability of healthy food in Winchendon, Mass., and six surrounding towns. Three-year grant for $103,281.

• Horace Mann Educational Associates (Franklin, Mass.)Smart Data for Better Health Care—to build and pilot an electronic information system and convene a learning community to improve collaboration among community organizations and health care providers serving older people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One-year grant for $34,991.

• Jewish Family & Children’s Service (Waltham, Mass.)Building Cultural/Linguistic Capacity in Dementia Friends Massachusetts—to engage four linguistically and culturally diverse communities with high dementia prevalence and/or low access so they have access to Dementia Friends programming. Two-year grant for $50,000.

• MAB Community Services, Inc. (Brookline, Mass.)Ensuring Access for Seniors with Vision Loss and Other Disabilities—to integrate vision rehabilitation and care into healthy aging models through four pilot communities: Boston, Framingham, Lawrence and Springfield. Three-year grant for $130,000.

• Old Colony YMCA (Brockton, Mass.)Healthy for Life—to develop a community health model aligning services and programs provided by both clinical and community-based providers. Three-year grant for $180,000.

• Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (Springfield, Mass.)LiveWell Springfield Coalition – Age-Friendly City Project—to create and implement an action plan to address housing and transportation needs of older people in Springfield, Mass. Two-year grant for $198,998.

• Rhode Island Parent Information Network (Cranston, R.I.)Piloting a Sustainable Payment Model for Rhode Island’s Evidence-Based Programs—to increase evidence-based program participation among older people while building the infrastructure for a statewide sustainable payment model. Two-year grant for $170,000.

• Rhode Island Public Health Institute (Providence, R.I.) “Food on the Move” – Improving Sustainability—to expand “Food on the Move” mobile markets to a new site and conduct a pilot study to document the impact of healthier eating behaviors on older people. One-year grant for $95,000.

• Saint Elizabeth Community (Warwick, R.I.)Support and Services at Home (SASH)—to expand the Support and Services at Home (SASH) model for supportive housing of older people to three, non-Saint Elizabeth Community-managed sites in Rhode Island. One-year grant for $50,000.

• The Open Door (Gloucester, Mass.)Medically Tailored Groceries for Seniors Program—to run a pilot program that helps older people with chronic illness and food insecurity manage their health through medically tailored groceries. One-year grant for $60,000.