CHNCT Foundation's A Modern Tea Returning to New Haven
Event to feature the work of world renowned quilter Ed Johnetta Miller;
Yale University's Dr. John A. Elefteriades to discuss heart disease among women
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (Oct. 6, 2009) - Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. is bringing its annual women's heart health event A Modern Tea back to the New Haven Lawn Club on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. The event will feature the work of internationally-known quilter Ed Johnetta Miller and a keynote address will be given by Dr. John A. Elefteriades of Yale University.
In its fifth year, A Modern Tea is designed to heighten heart health awareness among women while providing them with an afternoon sure to delight the five senses. According to statistics released by the American Heart Association in 2006, roughly 500,000 women succumb to heart disease each year. Of those, 6,300 are women in Connecticut. By featuring various elements that contribute to a healthy lifestyle, thus healthy hearts, presenters are able to demonstrate that being informed about heart disease and its triggers are crucial to the health of our communities.
The 2010 A Modern Tea, themed A Quilt to Warm Your Heart, will feature a quilt specifically crafted by international artist Ed Johnetta Miller. It will be on hand for viewing alongside Miller, who is world renowned as being one of the most creative and colorful improvisational quiltmakers in the U.S. Her pieces can be found in many museums, corporate and private collections including The National Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.; Nelson Mandela's National Museum in Cape Town, South Africa; and Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum.
The 2010 keynote address will be given by Dr. John A. Elefteriades, the chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Yale University. Dr. Elefteriades will be in attendance to discuss his book The Women's Heart: An Owner's Guide and will have a signing afterward. The book discusses unique factors that affect women's cardiovascular health. Dr. Elefteriades is a former winner of the prestigious "Socrates Award" for his teaching of cardiac surgery.
As always, A Modern Tea will feature the following activities:
- Cardiovascular health workshops
- A sampling of international teas that are high in antioxidants … all of which contribute to a healthy heart
- A Red Dress fashion show
- Reiki, back, neck and hand massage … because stress relief is important to maintain a healthy heart
- A contemporary jazz trio … to provide a relaxed and invigorating atmosphere
For more information on A Modern Tea, please contact Tressa Spears Jackson, Executive Director of the Foundation, at 203.949.4101 or tspears@chnct.org
The Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. has awarded grants in the amount of $3,200 to the following Federally Qualified Health Centers:
December 2008
Charter Oak Health Center, Hartford
The Charter Oak Health Center will use a portion of the grant to add funds to its Families Against Cancer (FAC) program. The program was inspired by the work of a seven-year-old Simsbury boy who wanted to help those living with cancer. A portion of the grant will be used specifically to produce and distribute brochures explaining the FAC fund, its purpose and how to contribute. Those materials will be distributed to school sin the Greater Hartford area.
The remaining grant money will be used to subsidize its Health Care for the Homeless program. The program enables the Charter Oak Health Center to become acutely aware of the needs among this population for the assistance in the purchase of medication.
Fair Haven Community Heath Center, New Haven
The Fair Haven Community Health Center will use a portion of its grant award to implement its Access and Redesign project. The project’s goal is to improve the efficiency of each patient’s visit, as the center transitions to same-day visits and open access scheduling.
To improve the patient’s visit and reduce wait times, the Fair Haven Community Health Center will purchase pagers for all of its clinicians and clinical assistants. The pagers will be used to alert the staff members when the patient is ready to be seen. This purchase is expected to greatly improve communication between the front desk and staff members.
A portion of the grant will also be used to purchase a color printer.
Generations Family Health Center, Willimantic
The Generations Family Health Center will use its grant award to subsidize the cost of hiring a graphic design consultant. The consultant will help the center design new brochures and capital case statement materials. This is needed to help facilitate the center’s upcoming move to a new facility.
Over the past 25 years, the center has transformed from a one-room, free clinic to a center that serves nearly 15,000 patients at six locations annually. Because of its transformation, the center’s clientele has also changed. Therefore new marketing materials will have to be crafted to promote its services to its existing client base, as well as to prospective clients. In addition, it also needs to create materials specifically designed for its capital campaign.
Hill Health Corporation, New Haven
The Hill Health Corporation will use its grant award to sustain its use of the Language Line service. The Language Line service provides telephone interpretations for its patients who have limited English proficiency. The center is required to offer translation services.
Roughly 30 percent of the Hill Health Corporation’s patients require the use of the Language Line services. Over the past two years, the Corporation has requested services in 16 languages. The service is used on average of 15 times each month.
The Language Line service is the most cost effective means for the Corporation to obtain reliable, confidential translations for patients and staff. Funding for the service is crucial, as its state funding was recently cut.
Southwest Community Health Center, Inc., Bridgeport
The Southwest Community Health Center, Inc. will use its grant award toward implementing a new marketing strategy for the purpose of reaching a broader audience in the Bridgeport area so the center could attract and retain patients.
The center recently opened its fifth location and continues to expand its capacity to provide services to people living in the Greater Bridgeport area. The center engages in cooperative alliances with other agencies dedicated to the total well being of the people living in the Greater Bridgeport area.
The funds will be used to further enhance the center’s ability to educate the community regarding the availability of services to those underserved segments of its population, the expanded hours of operation and its participants in the state’s new Charter Oak program.
Staywell Health Center, Waterbury
The Staywell Health Center will split its grant award between two programs. It will use a portion of its award to help subsidize a child development-based field trip offered to a select group of isolated families. This field trip, usually to an interactive children’s museum or zoo, enables the families to experience a positive activities that would otherwise be out of reach. The Foundation has been the sole sponsor of these field trips.
The remaining portion of the grant award will be used toward its 11-week, curriculum-based prenatal group. The program’s goal is to reduce preterm birth and low birth rates. The sessions include information on smoking cessation, nutrition, bonding with baby, breastfeeding, early infant care, and handling stress, labor and delivery.
Optimus Health Care Inc., Bridgeport
The Optimus Health Care Inc. will use its grant award to design and print a patient brochure for its new Open Access system, which is being implemented at its Stamford site.
The Stamford Community Health Center is participating in a one year Access and Redesign program. The goal of this program is to improve financial results; increase provider capacity; increase the demand for provider appointments and capacity of providers without increasing their workload; improve access to care and decrease the no show rate; maximize the clinical team members in supporting patient care and providers; and increase provider, staff and patient satisfaction.
The Stamford Community Health Center will be acting as a pilot site for this program.
This year, the CHNCT Foundation is proud to announce that the grant has been awarded to each CHC in the amount of $3,200.00.
Wallingford, CT—November 26, 2007—The Community Health Network Of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. (CHNCT) announces the recipients of their Fourth Annual mini-grant awardees.
Charter Oak, Hartford, CT – Charter Oak will use the funds to purchase HgbAIc machines to enable providers to perform this test for all diabetic patients. The HgbA1c blood test shows how well diabetes has been controlled during the previous two to three months. This will allow for a real time accurate picture of the patient’s disease status and will indicate the appropriate treatment plan. They will also utilize the funds to assist uninsured patients with their co-pay for prescription drugs at their 340B Pharmacy.
Fair Haven Community Health Center, New Haven, CT - Fair Haven Community Health Center will utilize the funds to help with two distinct projects: The Clinicians’ Library and Internet Access. The center has recently become a ‘wireless site’ so that clinicians can work in any area of the center, as well as offsite and still be connected to the internet. The funds will also be utilized to purchase furniture for the newly expanded Pediatric Room furniture.
Generations, Willimantic, CT – Generations will be reaching several milestones over the next several years that will need to be promoted through updated public relations materials to better serve their members. A new healthcare facility will be built in Willimantic and the center will soon celebrate their 25th anniversary. The funds would be utilized to pay for the printing to market the new facility and the printing costs for the 25th anniversary annual report. The center has been unable to pay for the annual report since 1999.
Hill Health Center, New Haven, CT – The Hill Health Center requested support to continue the patient medical interpretation services through the Language Line Service. The service provides telephone interpretation for their patients who have limited English proficiency.
Optimus Health Care, Inc., Bridgeport, CT – Optimus Health Care, Inc. requested the funds to purchase forty-one (41) Baby Trend Flex-Loc car seats to be distributed through a Community Car Safety Seat Education and Distribution Program. This program will be implemented during Safe Kids Week celebrated in April 2008. The Optimus’ Prenatal Coordinator will provide the child safety seats to low income parents enrolled in their Obstetric program.
Southwest Community Health Center, Bridgeport, CT – The organization has opened a new state of the art health center facility located on 968 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport. With this new facility Southwest will be able to further expand access to health care by serving an additional 3,500 individuals per year. Their primary objective is to market services to broader Bridgeport service area in order to attract and retain patients.
StayWell Health Center, Waterbury, CT – Staywell requested funds to purchase an Urisys Urine Analyzer for the Women’s Health Services Department. The test results will indicate early hypertension during pregnancy. Early identification is best to improve birth outcomes. The center will also hold a Child Development Based Field Trip. This offers the opportunity for isolated families to experience a positive activity with their children at a location that would otherwise be out of their reach.
Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation, Inc.
Joins Fight in #1 Killer of Women
Local Activities Part of Nationwide Effort to Educate Women About Heart Disease
Wallingford, CT—What is the #1 killer of women today? Heart Disease. This silent killer has initiated a partnership between Community Health Network Of CT Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office on Women’s Health, Region I, to raise awareness in Connecticut communities across the state. Their mission is to bring the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s Heart Truth Campaign information to Connecticut communities through a variety of faith-based organizations with the assistance of local health care centers.
According to Sylvia Kelly, Chair of the Foundation Board, "Our Heart Truth Health displays are a great opportunity to reach out to women in our community and alert them regarding their personal risk factors for heart disease. We have decided to target the faith-based organizations because we know that people are seeking advice on medical treatment from their prospective faith-based organizations. Using the health centers that are located in these urban areas is the key to this campaign with their established presence in these communities.”
This initiative includes providing local health care centers with educational materials that people can take home with them. The Region I Office of Women’s Health has supported this work with a contract for $4900.00 to the Foundation, and the Foundation has added an additional $1500.00 towards the initiative.
“We are looking for a domino effect with this campaign,” stated Tressa Spears, Executive Director at the Foundation. “The more people we can educate, the more likely the message will spread and filter into the communities. This is just the beginning of our initiative on heart health awareness.”
The CHNCT Foundation also plans to partner with the American Heart Association on a program titled “Search Your Heart.” This program focuses on addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and instances of stroke in the African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian populations. Commencing in 1994, this faith-based program now has over 7,000 participating organizations across the country.
About The Heart Truth Campaign
A nationwide campaign—The Heart Truth—is underway to raise awareness that women need to protect their heart. This national campaign is building awareness of women's heart disease and empowering women to reduce and prevent their risk. It is reaching women with important heart health messages in community settings through a diverse network of national and grassroots partner organizations.
For more information about women and heart disease, including materials such as The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women and fact sheets about women and heart disease, please visit http://www.hearttruth.gov or call the NHLBI Health Information Center at 301-592-8573.
This year, the CHNCT Foundation is proud to announce that the grant has been enhanced to award each CHC with $3,500.00.
Wallingford, CT—December 15, 2006—The Community Health Network Of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. (CHNCT) announces the recipients of their Third Annual mini-grant awardees.
Charter Oak, Hartford, CT – Charter Oak will use the funds to upgrade to a new Network Server for the Physician Computer Network (the current practice management system for the agency). The system is used for patient enrollment, scheduling, billing, data management and the statistical reports required by their funders. This grant will help them purchase the critically needed piece of equipment.
Fair Haven Community Health Center, New Haven - Fair Haven Community Health center will utilize the funds to contract with a consultant/facilitator for training employees on how to improve their cultural competence and help the center to enhance the value of diversity in the workplace and the patients they serve. The goal is to make all staff accountable for maintaining an environment where the benefits of diversity can flourish.” (from proposal by Denise Page, President, DreamCatchers, LLC.)
Generations, Willimantic, CT – Provide Customer Service Training to employees to allow the health center to provide the highest quality of care to their patients. The goal of the Customer Service Training program is to explore opportunities to engage staff in professional development activities and strengthen/improve interactions with colleagues and patients. Customer Service Training will allow staff to focus on the key components associated with good service delivery to help build a better team environment.
Hill Health Center, New Haven, CT – Provide patient medical interpretation services through the Language Line Service. The service provides telephone interpretation for their patients who have limited English proficiency. Nearly half of their 28,000 patients fit into this category. Most of theses patients speak Spanish. However, in the past four months they have needed interpreters for patients who speak Vietnamese, Somali and Arabic. This service will provide telephone interpretation within minutes. It can also be used by the support and clerical staff for making appointments, clarifying instructions and giving directions.
Optimus Health Care, Inc., Bridgeport, CT – Optimus Health Care, Inc. is implementing a smoking cessation program for the mentally ill at its Stamford, CT satellite sites with funding from the CT Department of Public Health. They would like to expand the program to include other patients of the center struggling to quit smoking. The availability of the CO Monitor at their two other main locations for Adult Medicine will greatly enhance the promotion and medical care support of the smoking cessation program. Through this they hope to help 50 more patients quit smoking in one year.
Southwest Community Health Center, Bridgeport, CT – The organization continues to move towards the opening of their new state of the art health center facility located on 968 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport. For this undertaking they are seeking to expand their outreach in the community with a marketing campaign through the development of new departmental brochures, distribution of marketing items and mailings to targeted neighborhoods.
StayWell Health Center, Waterbury, CT – Support the Community Programs Department 9 week prenatal group. The goal is to help reduce preterm birth and low birth weight babies. Plan a Child Development Based Field Trip. This offers the opportunity for isolated families to experience a positive activity with their children at a location that would otherwise be out of their reach. Pay for the bus to transport 50 people, including 5 chaperones from SHC. The funds will also provide lunch and the entrance fee to the chosen location. They will also purchase 11 new chairs for their new waiting room.
The Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. Announces Awardees for the Second Annual Mini-Grant Program
Wallingford, CT—December 7, 2005—The Community Health Network Of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. (CHNCT) announces the recipients of their Second Annual mini-grant awardees. Over ten years ago, nine different Connecticut Community Health Centers founded CHNCT, Inc. The CHNCT Foundation, the sister entity to CHNCT, Inc., now serves the remaining seven Community Health Centers (CHC).
The process of awarding the seven grants through this Foundation program consists of submitting a proposal. The previous year, each CHC was awarded $1000.00. The grants were previously used for projects such as: oral health education, medical record updates, employee trainings, supplies, computers, and much needed new medical equipment.
This year, the CHNCT Foundation is proud to announce that the grant has been enhanced to award each CHC with $3,250.00. The monies provided will be to benefit each CHC as follows:
Charter Oak Health Center, Inc. (COHC) of Hartford—With the addition of their Women’s Health Services Program, including expanding on-site colonoscopy and ultrasounds; COHC, Inc. will use their awarded grant to purchase a new colonoscopy machine. The total cost of the machine is $5,000.00 and the grant will pay for the majority of the cost. This mini-grant will provide COHC, Inc. with more accurate results for patients. Moreover, it will eliminate referrals to hospitals, which can greatly reduce associated costs including transportation. This service will also improve the quality of on-site care. COHC, Inc. foresees the use of this machine will support over 100 colonoscopies annually.
Staywell Health Center of Waterbury—This mini-grant request is based on community and relationship building with families as the focus with three components.
The first is utilizing $850.00 for developing a nine-week prenatal educational group. Sessions will include topics such as: nutrition, bonding with the newborn, smoking cessation, stress, and early infant care. This program will create a strong knowledge base for these women to ensure they are prepared for motherhood.
The second component will consist of a child development field trip. Staywell Health Center will collaborate with the Pediatric Department to provide a trip to a local museum or zoo. One thousand dollars will be allocated for this project to pay for 50 parents and children to attend this trip. The families will be able to re-create and utilize what they learn and see on the trip at home to encourage creativity, development and social skills with their children.
The third component will consist of an oral health initiative. With their current status as the leader for the Waterbury Oral Health Collaborative; Staywell will use the remaining $1,400.00 for their mobile oral health program that travels to 14 schools.
Generations Family Health Center of Willimantic—Generations has requested the mini-grant to raise the quality of technological improvements. This five-year plan will include goals of establishing a network for file sharing, email services, and an improved Electronic Health Record System. The $3,250.00 will provide Generations with the first step to establish a server in which this long-term project can begin. This project will allow for Generations to slowly integrate E-prescriptions and E-filing of patient information and will allow for easier compliance with HIPAA security.
Fair Haven Community Health Center of New Haven—Fair Haven CHC will apply the mini-grant to two areas designed to improve Patient Safety: 1) An Automatic electronic defibrillator, and 2) Pharmacy software program.
Fair Haven plans to upgrade to the recommendations from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) with the purchase of the defibrillator. Having this critical device on-site will increase the survival and decrease the instances of Sudden Cardiac Death. The cost of the defibrillator machine is $2,150.00.
The purchase of the Pharmacy Software Program will assist both nursing and clinical staff to ensure correct dosage amounts, reduce drug interactions and to prescribe appropriate medications. The mini-grant will cover the license fee from the program to be installed on the computers in the health center. The cost of the software is $1,100.00 to assist in Fair Haven’s ongoing Performance Improvement Plan.
Bridgeport Community Health Center of Bridgeport—Bridgeport CHC recently received a federal grant to implement a Healthcare for the Homeless Program in collaboration with two existing clinic sites (Lathon Wider Community Center and the Chester Addison Community Center), the Shelter for the Homeless, Inc., and new Covenant House of Hospitality. This mini-grant from the CHNCT Foundation will provide assistance in allowing 20 patients on a waiting list to receive prescription glasses and eye examinations.
Southwest Community Health Center, Inc. of Bridgeport— Southwest CHC will utilize their mini-grant of $3,250.00 to defray the costs of upgrading their Information System capabilities.
This money will provide all four health centers that Southwest oversees in Bridgeport with high-speed internet connections for email and information access to all the sites. This will enhance the process of working with outside clinics and hospitals ensuring more timely and efficient care for their patients.
Hill Health Center of New Haven—With the mini-grant awarded, Hill Health Center will purchase an autoclave for the Dental Department. Their existing autoclave recently broke and cannot be repaired. This critical piece of medical equipment is required by the State Public Health Department and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
About Community Health Network Of Connecticut Foundation, Inc.
The Community Health Network of CT Foundation, Inc. was founded in 2003 by Community Health Network of CT, a not for profit managed care plan. The Foundation is a public charitable organization concerned with the health of Connecticut residents. Our mission is to advance, support and promote programs and activities that fundamentally improve the health status of the people of Connecticut.
The Foundation’s goal is to support nonprofit activities of community health centers, and other non-profit organizations that promote health care services to families in Connecticut.
The Community Health Network of CT Foundation, Inc. and the CT Department of Public Health Conference, "Restoring Body & Soul: Developing and Sustaining Health Ministries".
The conference will feature speakers on topics such as Addressing Health Disparities, CT Health Ministry Success Stories, Grant Writing, and How to Set Up and Maintain a Successful Health Ministry. There will also be vendor booths on diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more. Saturday, May 14th, 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. $20 registration, at Middlesex Community College, Middletown. Scholarship assistance is available. For more information call (203) 949-4101 or email tspears@chnct.org.
Other partners include: American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, Faith in Action CT, Hartford Area Parish Nurses, and St. Francis Hospital.
Please complete the attached registration form and mail to CHNCT Foundation, Inc. 11 Fairfield Boulevard, Wallingford, CT 06492.
* In order to view the registration document, you need to have a version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 4.0 or greater) installed on your computer. If you do not have a copy of the free Acrobat Reader and would like to download it, please click here.
The Community Health Network of CT Foundation, Inc.
Announces Mini-Grant Awardees
Wallingford, CT – Thursday, November 18, 2004. The CHNCT Foundation announced the recipients of their first Mini-Grant Program. Proposals came from seven different community health centers.
Bridgeport Community Health Center - Develop and disseminate oral health educational materials in English & Spanish. This will help market their new dental clinic services provided at the Park City Primary Care site and stress the importance of regular dental check-ups and oral health care.
Charter Oak Health Center of Hartford- Defray the costs of their Medical Records Project. The goal is to upgrade the filing of hardcopy medical records to improve the quality and assure continuity of care among clinical departments.
Fair Haven Community Health Center of New Haven- Obtain training support and supplies for improving and enhancing Cultural Competency for their staff. This will involve both an assessment and review of their needs from a trainer/consultant. The training materials will include books, videos, etc.
Generations Family Health Center, Inc. of Willimantic- Support a smoking cessation program sponsored by Hartford Hospital. This funding will provide free nicotine replacement therapy patches for SAGA insured and uninsured clients at their Willimantic site.
Hill Health Center of New Haven- Purchase a laptop computer to be used for Power Point educational purposes for staff. They will also purchase 20 pedometers to be used by the Health Promotion Department with the aim of promoting exercise with overweight or obese patients that have a chronic illness.
Southwest Community Health Center of Bridgeport - Enhance the health center’s ability to market their services in the community. Southwest will achieve this goal by purchasing color posters, banners and a tri-fold display to market their health care services to the community.
Staywell Health Center of Waterbury- Purchase equipment and supplies to perform 10 different urinalysis tests, then display and print the results at a faster rate than other manual options. The testing equipment will primarily be used for their Diabetic population. Ultimately, it will improve the health of their at-risk population and increase access to comprehensive care.
Each community health center has been awarded $1000 to support their initiative.
