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Improving Health Outcomes
COVID-19 HEALTH POLICY & ADVOCACY
In addition to its programmatic initiatives to effect change, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland invests in strategies that address systemic challenges through policy and advocacy. The onset of COVID-19 saw the need for near constant advocacy to officials at all levels of government to respond appropriately to the devastation that the pandemic would inflict on our communities.
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SOCF is active in partnering with organizations who are invested in equity and systems-level policy change that will improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable populations we serve.
HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE OF OHIO
We are a founding and sustaining supporter of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO), and currently one foundation staff member maintains an officer position on HPIO’s board. Through the months of the pandemic, HPIO collaborated with Ohio Department of Health to research and evaluate the resonant health effects of COVID-19 across Ohio. The resulting health value dashboard shows the impact of the pandemic on several social determinants of health, like education, employment and drug use.
HPIO was contracted by the state to facilitate the creation of the Minority Health Strike Force Blueprint to recommend ways to combat COVID-19 among communities of color.
The Blueprint was released in August 2020, along with resources from HPIO that demonstrated the connections between racism and health.
PHILANTHROPY OHIO
Foundation staff also co-chair Philanthropy Ohio’s Health Initiative, which is supporting state and federal efforts to address COVID-19 cascading effects, including those related to basic needs of food and housing.
Improve access to public transportation to better connect communities of color to health care, jobs and education. As a lead partner in the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Respond Fund, SOCF contributed to advocacy efforts for Ohio to prioritize transportation needs in the biennial budget (under review in Spring 2021) and increase funding for public transportation.
• Letter to Ohio Senate Transportation
Committee in support of Substitute
HB 74 legislation → • Letter to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to address transportation needs in state budget →
EXPANDING HEALTH CARE & FOOD ACCESS
During the pandemic, when Ohioans were losing employer-funded health coverage, Ohio Medicaid/CHIP saw an increase in child enrollment, in part attributed to Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio (CDF-Ohio) and other advocates for increased Medicaid FMAP and Maintenance of Effort provisions during the public health emergency.
This enrollment momentum and urgency spurred action from Ohio funders. SOCF leads Ohio Regional Convergence Partnership (ORCP), a statewide funder collaborative that works to ensure all eligible children in Ohio have the health coverage they need to achieve and maintain their optimum health. In partnership with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and CDF-Ohio, ORCP secured $125,000 to implement The Finish Line Project national model in Ohio.
To elevate immediate needs and issues, particularly in the face of the pandemic, CDF-Ohio worked with many state and national partners, including the Ohio Legislative Children’s Caucus, to make sure Congressional delegates understood the importance of increased support to Ohio for critical health programs.
In addition, we were proud to see that Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services announced a program to provide Pandemic EBT money to support those students who would otherwise receive free or reduced-price lunches but were out of school because of COVID-19. SOCF was one of several organizations that signed a letter to Governor DeWine in April 2020 to advocate for this important benefit.
2020 CENSUS & COVID-19
In July, we reached out to our grantee partners to offer Census promotion materials and disseminated more than 4,000 items to our partners. Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA, on behalf of the foundation, joined more than 480 philanthropic organizations across the country in signing a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross and U.S. Census Bureau Director Dillingham, increasing awareness and urgency of the Census.
