$6.7 Million Awarded to Ensure Access to Quality Health Care

Los Angeles — The California Community Foundation announced today that it has awarded more than $6.7 million in health care grants to benefit the residents of the Centinela Valley.

Four nonprofit hospitals received grants totaling $6,287,820 to provide additional services to the Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic in Inglewood, and nine nonprofit health care organizations received grants totaling $469,029 to provide primary health care services to the Centinela Valley community.

The Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic — the only free community health clinic in Inglewood — is one of the few places low-income and uninsured families in the Centinela Valley can go if they or their children need to see a doctor.

Concerned about the lack of primary health care available to low-income and uninsured families in the Centinela Valley, the California Community Foundation made a commitment to improve health care delivery and awarded the South Bay Family Healthcare Center a $1.6 million grant to establish Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic in Inglewood, which first opened its doors in October 2003.

"By funding organizations that work with this clinic, we support more than just the residents of the Centinela Valley," said Antonia Hernández, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. "The entire Los Angeles community benefits when patients are able to receive nonemergency medical care at the clinic instead of their local emergency rooms, reducing hospital wait times and freeing up doctors and nurses for true medical emergencies."

Nonprofit hospital grants benefiting the clinic range from $317,906 to $3,089,820. "Wrap-around" services provided to the clinic by these grants include oral health screenings, cardiac care and radiology services, among others.

The grants were made from two special initiatives of the foundation, the Centinela Medical Care Fund and the Centinela Medical Community Fund. After Centinela Hospital was sold to a for-profit corporation in 1996, these two funds were created at the California Community Foundation to ensure that the community members who had been served by the hospital - residents of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lennox, El Segundo, Watts, Compton, Lawndale and parts of Los Angeles — would continue to have access to quality health care services.

Since inception, the funds have awarded more than $14 million to organizations providing health care to low-income and uninsured residents of the Centinela Valley.

Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more than $600 million. In partnership with its donors, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions with funds for health and human services, affordable housing, early childhood education, community arts and culture and other areas of need.

Below is a list of the grant recipients:

Centinela Medical Care Fund

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles ($317,906)
Founded in 1902, Cedars-Sinai is a source of medical care for thousands of patients every year and a major research institution achieving advances in a wide range of health care sub-specialties. The hospital received a $317,906 grant to provide oral health care screenings and oral health education to more than 2,000 children and their families at the Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic, which is also a community foundation grantee.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles ($546,586)
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which celebrated its centennial in 2001, offers a broad spectrum of pediatric care. Its mission is to advance the health and well being of children and adolescents by integrating medical care, preventive services, medical education and research in response to the needs of the community. The hospital conducts more than 320,000 inpatient and outpatient visits each year. A $546,586 grant will fund a feasibility, planning and implementation process to directly link a pediatric acute care facility to the Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic.

Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles ($2,333,580)
For more than a century, Good Samaritan Hospital has been providing high quality patient care in state of the art facilities, including intensive, cardiac and orthopedic care. Good Samaritan is also a world-class academic medical center affiliated with the USC Keck School of Medicine. A $2,333,580 grant will enable the hospital to provide care to the Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic's cardiac patients.

Little Company of Mary Hospital, Torrance ($3,089,820)
Little Company of Mary combines medical care with a healing environment and careful attention to the needs of its patients — mind, body and spirit. From prevention to diagnosis and treatment, the hospital's holistic approach to healing sets it apart. A $3,089,820 grant will provide a variety of support services to the Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic, including radiology and outreach services. The grant will also enable the hospital to help the clinic identify specialty physicians who agree to provide care to the clinic's patients.

Centinela Medical Community Fund

Alzheimer's Association, Los Angeles Chapter, Los Angeles ($50,000)
The Alzheimer's Association's dual mission is to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease and to provide support and assistance to patients and their families. The Los Angeles chapter is part of a national organization comprising 225 chapters across the United States. A $50,000 grant supports the organization's work in training Dr. Claudia Hampton Clinic staff in how to identify symptoms of dementia, and providing appropriate follow-up medical care.

California Hospital Medical Center Foundation, Los Angeles ($41,360)
Established in 1887, the California Hospital Medical Center (CHMC) is located in Central Los Angeles, one of the poorest and most densely populated communities in Los Angeles County. A full-service nonprofit hospital, CHMC provides support to several community clinics in the surrounding neighborhoods. A $41,360 grant supports free screenings for diabetes, hypertension and obesity for more than 800 patients at six different locations.

The Children's Dental Center, Inglewood ($50,000)
The Children's Dental Center is a state-of-the art facility that provides comprehensive dental care to uninsured children through prevention, education and treatment to more than 500 patients a month. In the center's educational center, affectionately known as the Tooth Fairy Cottage, children and their parents are provided with preventive dental health education. A $50,000 grant allows the clinic to provide basic and preventive dental care to approximately 140 patients and to teach these children and their parents proper brushing, flossing and rinsing techniques. Individuals partnering with the clinic allow it to provide services to those who are most in need.

Coalition of Mental Health Professionals, Los Angeles ($42,305)
Founded in 1992, the Coalition of Mental Health Professionals empowers individuals and groups by giving them the ability to negotiate and solve daily problems in their lives. The organization offers the community individual, group and family therapy, psychological assessments, parenting classes and anger management classes in both English and Spanish. A $42,305 grant enables the nonprofit to offer mental health counseling to people 65 and older in the Centinela Valley.

El Nido Family Centers, Los Angeles ($46,000)
With 10 locations throughout Los Angeles, El Nido Family Centers has been providing culturally sensitive social services to low-income individuals and families since 1925. Services are available in English and Spanish and include teen pregnancy prevention, services for pregnant or parenting teens, child abuse prevention and parenting education. The organization received a $46,000 grant to support the Real Men Can program, a teenage pregnancy prevention program for ninth grade male students that aims to lower the number of teenagers who give birth and also addresses STD prevention measures.

Hawthorne School District, Hawthorne ($63,364)
The Hawthorne School District is a K-8 school district consisting of 12 elementary and middle schools that annually serve more than 9,000 students. The district received a $63,364 grant to provide dental and vision screenings to uninsured, low-income students. The district works with another community foundation grantee, The Children's Dental Center, to assist children with severe tooth decay and works with the UCLA Mobile Vision Clinic, the Lion's Club and Lens Crafters to provide vision screenings and prescription glasses to children in need.

Jenesse Center, Los Angeles ($76,000)
Serving domestic violence victims since 1980, the Jenesse Center is the oldest shelter in South Los Angeles. Founded by three survivors of domestic violence, the center offers emergency, transitional and supportive services ranging from a 24-hour hotline to long-term housing. Other critical services offered by Jenesse include legal advocacy, job training, comprehensive health services and a variety of children's programs. A grant of $76,000 helps the shelter provide on-site access to primary health care, mental health care and health education for the women and children residing at the center as well as drop-in patients.

Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, Los Angeles ($50,000)
For the past 80 years, the mission of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic has been to provide quality mental health services to the children and youth living in South Los Angeles. Guided by a commitment to ensure easy access, the clinic offers programs services on-site, at home, and in schools. The clinic also offers wraparound services, including a health clinic, parent education and transitional services for older youth. The clinic's First Steps program, which received a $50,000 Centinela grant, works with families whose infants and toddlers are at risk of needing mental health or special education services because of drug exposure, developmental delay, foster care or child abuse.

Prototypes: Centers for Innovation in Health, Mental Health and Social Services ($50,000)
With locations throughout Los Angeles, Prototypes provides a variety of social services to more than 10,000 women and their families each year, including substance abuse programs, HIV/AIDS services, domestic violence programs and mental health programs. A $50,000 grant supports Hands on Health, a Prototypes program that teaches HIV positive women how to protect themselves and their loved ones from the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs.