Independence Blue Cross Foundation announces nearly $1.8M in grants supporting nursing, addressing the opioid epidemic, and community health and wellness

Philadelphia, PA — The Independence Blue Cross Foundation (Foundation) today announced nearly $1.8 million in funding to support three programs: Nurses for Tomorrow, Supporting Treatment and Opioid Prevention (STOP) Initiative, and Building Healthier Communities.

Nurses for Tomorrow

Twenty-two nursing schools are the recipients of nearly $1.1 million in scholarship funding for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral nursing students through the Foundation’s Nurse for Tomorrow program. Harcum College is a first-time grant recipient, and Holy Family University has added a doctoral program which will receive grant funding this year. To date, the Foundation has awarded nearly $10 million in nursing scholarship grants.

The Foundation is investing more than $100,000 to support its Nursing Internship Program. This year, there are 23 intern positions; 15 are working at community health centers and eight interns are working at Independence Blue Cross. The Foundation has also partnered with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to provide interns with leadership learning opportunities about innovation and entrepreneurism.

Supporting Treatment and Overdose Prevention (STOP)

The Foundation has committed more than $440,000 in seven grants for the STOP Initiative to increase access to evidence-based opioid use disorder prevention and treatment. The grants will support the following organizations:

  • Caron Treatment Centers: to expand access to prevention programs for families, training for health care providers, and student support programs that reduce the stigma associated with addiction
  • Coatesville Youth Initiatives: to support a prevention-based project that will prevent and reduce opioid use among youth through awareness and education
  • CORA Services, Inc.: to support an Alternative Peer Group pilot in collaboration with the Bridgeway School, Pennsylvania’s only high school for youth in recovery
  • Communities Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM): to expand a pilot pain management assessment program to help CVIM clinicians diagnose and treat pain
  • One Day at a Time, Inc.: to expand transitional housing, comprehensive case management services, and youth programming
  • Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Foundation: to develop an opioid prevention model for patients seen in primary care
  • Thomas Jefferson University: to launch the Community Reinforcement and Family Therapy program to empower families and loved ones with the skills to discuss treatment options with individuals experiencing opioid use disorder

In June, the Foundation launched Someone You Know, a multimedia campaign focused on reducing the stigma of opioid use disorder and inspiring hope in people seeking help with addiction and recovery.

Building Healthier Communities

Through the Building Healthier Communities program, the Foundation is awarding 10 grants totaling $125,000 to address health and wellness needs through support of community-based nonprofits. Included in this round of grants are:

  • Boy Scouts of America: for Scoutreach, which prepares under-resourced youth for a healthy future through nutrition and fitness education
  • Faith in the Future: an academic readiness program for underachieving freshmen that incorporates health education
  • Intercommunity Action Incorporated: for mobile mental health services to isolated seniors
  • Linda Creed Breast Cancer: for a free mammography program for uninsured women
  • Mercy Neighborhood Ministries of Philadelphia, Inc.: to enhance community education curriculum through exercise, diet, and dental hygiene
  • Philadelphia Youth Basketball: for programs that incorporate basketball skill-development, game play, and youth enrichment components
  • Providence Center Youth Wellness Program: to help elementary and middle school students impacted by violence-based traumas
  • Veteran’s Multi-Service Center — Healthy Living Initiative: to empower female military and veterans through holistic support services
  • YMCA of Greater Brandywine: to help cancer survivors improve functional capacity and quality of life through fitness and strength training
  • YWCA of Bucks County Focus on Healthy Living: community programming for youth with a nutrition focus and health and safety issues related to adult women

About the Independence Blue Cross Foundation 
The Independence Blue Cross Foundation is a charitable, private foundation, whose mission is leading solutions for a healthier community. The Foundation targets the following areas of impact:

  • Securing the Blue Safety Net: Strengthening the safety net of private, nonprofit health centers that provide access to quality, affordable health care in medically underserved areas.
  • Bolstering the Health Care Workforce: Advancing the nursing workforce through education and professional development.
  • Addressing Health Priorities: Finding local solutions to national health issues through research and cross-sector partnerships. Currently focusing on the opioid epidemic through the Supporting Treatment and Overdose Prevention (STOP) initiative.
  • Building Healthier Communities: Enabling nonprofits to address diverse community health and wellness needs.

Learn more by visiting our website: www.ibxfoundation.org. Connect with the Independence Blue Cross Foundation on Twitter.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is an association of 35 independent, locally operated Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield companies.