AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular Health program awarded $1.9 million dollars in grant funding to eleven community-based programs focusing on cardiovascular health. The grant recipients will discuss their community programs in a series of round tables.
This year’s awardees include:
Catherine’s Health Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., $167,383;
City Health Works in New York, N.Y.; $178,809;
Drexel University, Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services in Philadelphia, Pa., $179,974;
The Gaston & Porter Health Improvement Center Inc. in Washington, D.C., $179,726;
Mallory Community Health Center in Lexington, Miss., $180,000;
Manna Ministries Inc. in Picayune, Miss., $180,000;
North Georgia HealthCare Center in Ringgold, Ga., $179,200;
St. Mary’s Health Wagon in Wise, Va., $180,000;
West Virginia Health Right Inc. in Charleston, W. Va., $179,686;
YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles – Mid Valley Family YMCA in Van Nuys, Calif., $158,566.
“Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in our nation and these nonprofit organizations are working to reduce its impact at the community level,” James W. Blasetto, M.D., MPH, FACC, chairman of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, said in a press release. “We are proud to provide not only financial support to their initiatives, but to facilitate an exchange of ideas and key learnings from these programs.”
Nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. received the funding, which will help support programs that reach people through a variety of mechanisms including “home visits, clinics, community centers and more, using health coaches, support groups and mobile health units,” according to AstraZeneca.
The initiative specifically targets underserved at-risk groups, including teenagers, Latinos, and African-American women.
The AstraZeneca Connections for Cardiovascular Health program began in 2010, and has has given more than $19 million in grants to 47 organizations throughout the U.S. Supporting an overall mission to improve health, the program encourages healthy lifestyle choices, exercise, healthy diet, and cardiovascular health screening.
According to the AstraZeneca website, applications for the company’s grants need to meet four key criteria:
- Address cardiovascular health issues within the U.S. and its territories;
- Recognize and work to address an unmet need related to cardiovascular health in the community;
- Respond to the urgency around addressing cardiovascular health issues, including cardiovascular disease or conditions contributing to cardiovascular disease;
- Improve the quality of participants’ and non-professional caregivers’ lives in connection with the services provided and work done.
Information about grant’s application is available at www.astrazeneca-us.com/foundation. For the next round of grant funding, applications must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Feb. 25, 2016.
