September 2024 Grants Awarded
EQUITABLE CARE AND COVERAGE
A grant of $104,000 to African Community Senior Services (ACSS) will support two MNsure navigators in outreach activities, application assistance and healthcare coverage enrollment. The community served by ACSS typically requires two or more interactions to complete their enrollment due to complex cases, large families, and general unfamiliarity with various federal and state systems. Because of the trust between ACSS and the community, clients frequently extend appointments to include reviewing physical mail, setting up email addresses, and answering general questions. ACSS aims to assist 1,000 clients per year, conducting outreach at places of worship, community events and public housing.
A grant of $200,000 to CAPI USA will support the work of Spanish-speaking and Hmong-speaking navigators, which are crucial to CAPI’s outreach among Latine and Hmong households. Navigators will support clients throughout the application and enrollment process, ensuring that coverage is maintained and providing first-language education on how to use their coverage. CAPI will reach community members through in-person connections, point-of-service referrals through existing programming, and media partnerships with Hmong Radio AM 1590 and Spanish-language MLatino Media.
A grant of $200,000 to Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) will support the expansion of culturally responsive and individualized outreach, application and enrollment assistance activities, including to undocumented individuals and families who are newly eligible for MinnesotaCare. MNsure outreach navigators will promote availability of navigation services and MNsure options through CLUES’ food access programs, which have seen an immense increase in demand. CLUES will also promote services through community events and strategic online outreach, utilizing the organization’s robust online presence and large following.
A grant of $177,834 to Face to Face Health and Counseling Service will support the continuation and expansion of outreach and enrollment activities, specifically targeting Black youth experiencing housing instability. A dedicated full-time MNsure Navigator will lead this work by assisting in creating accounts, providing essential support in completing the application (including gathering the necessary supporting documentation), making a prompt submission on verifications, addressing post-application inquiries, explaining notices received, and clarifying any next steps for applicants. Face to Face will also provide transportation support and interpretation services when needed, and will be available for assistance in drop-in centers, shelters, and transitional housing.
A grant of $100,000 to HealthFinders Collaborative (HFC) will support a team of eight bilingual and bicultural MNsure-certified Navigators in providing outreach, application and enrollment assistance in Rice County. The team works to connect the community to integrated coverage and care, with one third of HFC programs taking place in community spaces such as home visits, schools, places of worship, community centers and neighborhood locations. All programs will screen for insurance coverage, and enrollment assistance will be provided at the community clinical locations in Faribault and Northfield, along with numerous community-embedded locations throughout the county.
A grant of $100,000 to NorthPoint Health & Wellness will support MNsure Navigators to provide outreach, application and enrollment assistance within a critical area of the Twin Cities Metro, focusing on a low-income and largely BIPOC population. NorthPoint will work to strengthen relationships with culturally specific community nonprofits and schools, supporting enrollment for their families with particular efforts around reaching mixed status families and pregnant/recently postpartum individuals. These outreach efforts will provide a combination of engagement, education, and trust building. Navigators will also have a large presence at community events in North Minneapolis where individuals are already accessing public benefits like SNAP. Services will be offered in English, Hmong and Spanish.
A grant of $200,000 to Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance (MMLA) will support MMLA’s successful navigator program, with navigators providing direct outreach, enrollment and renewal assistance to underserved communities in the region, including its expansion into Kandiyohi County and in serving the newly eligible undocumented community. Navigators will provide comprehensive enrollment and renewal assistance through in-person appointments scheduled in MMLA’s St. Cloud office and at enrollment sites located throughout the region. Video and phone appointments will also be offered. Navigators will also assist community members through weekly drop-in opportunities and at targeted enrollment events throughout the year.
A grant of $200,000 to Portico Healthnet, in partnership with Seeds of Justice, will support deep engagement and guidance for approximately 600 Minnesotans in Nobles County who are newly eligible for healthcare coverage.
This partnership will call on the collective strengths of each organization to have the most impact in the community. Seeds of Justice will identify qualified candidates for MNsure Navigator and community ambassador roles, oversee the local community ambassador positions, provide the local MNsure navigator with guidance on community priorities, amplify and attend community outreach and enrollment events, and identify local referral partners.
Portico will hire, onboard and provide technical assistance to a full-time, Worthington-based MNsure Navigator, develop a campaign related to the MinnesotaCare eligibility expansion, and directly provide Portico assistance to consumers.
A grant of $200,000 to United Community Action Partnership will support outreach, application and enrollment assistance by multi-lingual MNsure navigators for the Sgaw/Karen, East African/Somali, and Hispanic/Latino communities of Kandiyohi and Nobles Counties. These immigrant and refugee communities are disproportionately uninsured and UCAP will continue their high-engagement model to minimize barriers to access. One of the supported activities will be a continuation of monthly community meetings where community stakeholders and leaders come together to receive updates on agency programs, stay informed on public health interests and developments, share program feedback, engage with public officials, and inform UCAP on developments within their communities. A focused effort will also be made to engage DHS and MNsure in preparation for the expanded eligibility of MinnesotaCare for the undocumented community and collaborate with area partners to best serve that community.
HEALTHY GENERATIONS
A grant of $300,000 to CARE Clinic will support CARE’s MNsure program, integrated health care model and expanding dental program, including support for bilingual and bicultural staff to continue providing culturally sensitive care at the clinic and in community settings. CARE will continue to work closely with Hispanic Outreach on referrals, along with the Hispanic Family Therapy program – the only psychotherapy service south of the Twin Cities that is offered in Spanish. CARE will also hire an additional dentist to provide expanded services such as dentures, partials, and root canals. CARE will continue to adapt to meet patient needs and expand availability of services for the uninsured, publicly insured and low-income Minnesotans in and around Goodhue County.
A grant of $600,000 to Native American Community Clinic (NACC) will support coverage and care navigation services for low-income, urban American Indian/Alaska Native individuals and families who face social and economic barriers to healthcare and experience related health inequities. NACC’s expertly trained Patient Advocates and Navigators will deliver comprehensive support services rooted in community outreach, including insurance enrollment, resource navigation, transportation assistance and housing assessments. This support will enable expanded outreach efforts within encampments, at testing events, and in other community settings alongside partner, Native-led organizations. NACC will pursue a multifaceted approach to advancing racial and health equity by addressing disparities in insurance status, facilitating access to critical healthcare services, promoting community engagement, and addressing the root causes of health inequities.
A grant of $600,000 to Northwest Indian Community Development Center (NWICDC) will support reclamation of Mino Biimaadiziwin, or the “Good Life,” as a pathway to health equity. Mino Biimaadiziwin is an Ojibwe concept of balance and living life consistent with the Seven Grandfather teachings of wisdom, love, humility, honesty, courage, respect and truth. The goal is to improve programs and service delivery to Native citizens and advance health equity by building healing pathways to balanced social, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Specifically, NWICDC will amplify efforts to provide Native citizens with opportunities to make decisions about life while maintaining cultural identity, practice, beliefs and lifestyle. They will continue to invest in perinatal supports for at-risk families, along with family stabilization and economic empowerment programs. They will also partner across sectors to jointly reimagine new systems of care and delivery that increase health equity among the community they serve – including policy solutions to advance positive systems change.
ORAL HEALTHCARE
A grant of $200,000 to Apple Tree Dental will support Apple Tree’s family-centered Dental Home Project, which provides children and schools with onsite oral health services and follow-up care. It will also support the expansion of Apple Tree’s Pediatric Specialty Care Team, which serves thousands of children with complex health, dental, and behavioral needs. This expansion, along with the continued integration of Apple Tree and Ready, Set, Smile, is helping better identify, intercept, and prevent oral health problems that would otherwise go unnoticed or untreated, particularly among children who are uninsured, underinsured, or insured through Medicaid.
A grant of $200,000 to Children’s Dental Services (CDS) will support efforts to reduce health disparities and improve the oral health of rural and inner city, low-income, BIPOC, under- or un-insured children and families by expanding access to 3,000 residents across Anoka, Beltrami, Brown, Hennepin, Houston, Itasca, Pine, St. Louis, and Stearns Counties. CDS will provide culturally targeted dental care co-located with other critically needed public health services, with direct care being provided by a diverse team of an Advanced Dental Therapist, a Dental Hygienist, and a Dental Assistant.
BIRTH EQUITY
A grant of $200,000 to African American Babies Coalition (AABC) will support AABC’s new Gentle Postpartum Recovery Project for AABC participants with elevated risk factors related to social determinants of health. The project includes close work with the Safer Birth Consortium – clinical and community-based partners focused on reducing maternal health disparities affecting the African American and Native American populations. AABC will also increase collaboration with the Birth Justice Collaborative and further promote the utilization of the AABC Resource Exchange, and implement a birth equity advocacy campaign.
A grant of $200,000 to Roots Community Birth Center will support culturally congruent reproductive health services, mental health services, screenings and immunizations, particularly to uninsured and underinsured African American and Native American populations in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, and Brooklyn Center. Roots aims to improve birth outcomes and create a more equitable healthcare system through continued and enhanced midwifery services, support for BIPOC midwifery students, detailed documentation and sharing of Roots’ care model, extensive health education, and robust community engagement. Roots will provide focused prenatal care for all community members, regardless of insurance type or ability to pay; increase midwife-provided postpartum care; offer clinical placement for BIPOC midwifery students; and share Roots’ methodology to scale positive outcomes.
INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT
A grant of $220,000 to the Minnesota Navigator Coalition will support efforts to broaden the navigator program’s reach and impact, ensuring that all Minnesotans have access to affordable healthcare coverage. The coalition will continue to convene navigator organizations, share learnings, offer relevant and timely navigator trainings, and utilize economies of scale for developing culturally competent outreach materials. Collective advocacy will continue to be the priority, and the coalition will look to further establish themselves as an important voice with MNsure and DHS.
A grant of $80,000 to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) will support SHADAC in updating the data in the Community and Uninsured Profile, which describes the geographic and demographic characteristics of the uninsured and the community context in which they live. The tool supports targeted outreach and enrollment activities and provides the necessary foundation for identifying the location of communities with the highest rates of uninsurance (“hot spots”), as well as measurement of social vulnerability levels for each ZIP Code in Minnesota.