Q&A: How the Chicago South Side Birth Center is Championing a Better Approach to Maternal Health
Grantmakers In Health (GIH) recently spoke with Jeanine Valrie Logan, Founder + Lead Steward of the Chicago South Side Birth Center, and Shruti Jayaraman, Chief Investments Officer of Chicago Beyond, to learn how the Chicago South Side Birth Center and Chicago Beyond are working together to improve maternal health outcomes for mothers in one of Chicago’s most underserved communities. This interview has been edited for style and clarity.
Medicaid Managed Care Contracts are a Powerful Tool for Change; Philanthropy has a Role to Play
As a foundation, the mission of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund is to improve the health of all Kansans. Our success, in large measure, depends on investments we make in advancing positive policy and systems changes that affect the state and communities. So, with large numbers of the state’s most vulnerable people relying on Medicaid for health coverage and care, we focus on leveraging the opportunities this program offers to sustain improved health outcomes and make progress on health equity.
Investing in Inclusion: How Health Philanthropy Can Prioritize the Needs and Perspectives of Individuals with Disabilities
One in five children in the United States has a special health care need requiring more than routine health services, and one in four adults report having a disability. As 70 million adults and 14.5 million children in the United States have a disability, the population impacted by issues in the aging out process and in the health care system more broadly is far from insignificant. Despite these numbers, disability-related grants represent just 2 percent of total philanthropic giving and are primarily directed towards services and supports that seek to fix or cure disabilities and perpetuate the ableist assumption that people with disabilities are unable to make decisions about their own care.
Sustainability? No, It Is about Building Durability!
Philanthropy has forever espoused the term “sustainability.” We ask in grant applications and in our conversations with grant partners: “What’s your sustainability plan?” and “How do you plan to sustain your program once the grant ends?” Thanks to the influence of Tom Klaus, formerly of Tenacious Change, my thinking has shifted and evolved over the past few years to “durability.”
Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation’s Persistent Journey toward Equity
Since 2019, the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) has embarked upon a journey of perspective transformation—challenging ourselves to know, think, and believe differently so we will decide, engage, and act more equitably. Through consistent commitment and action, our Board of Directors, leadership, and staff have moved equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) work beyond “box checking” activities, institutionalizing long-term, individual, organizational, community, and cultural changes.
Supporting Community Health Workers to Achieve Their Full Potential: What Role Can Philanthropy Play?
Community Health Workers (CHWs)—frontline public health professionals who have a unique and trusted relationship with the communities they serve—have proven their ability to help create just, equitable, and thriving communities. As a CHW for over a decade and a CHW ally for over 35 years, we have never witnessed a time of greater interest and investment in the CHW workforce. Amidst a rapidly changing CHW funding landscape, the philanthropic community has an important role to play in assuring that CHWs are able to make an optimum contribution to communities and to the health system.
Ending Girls’ Incarceration in California is Possible When We Listen to Young People and Invest in Their Healing
The United States leads the world in incarceration rates of women and girls—we account for only 4 percent of the world’s population of women and girls but 30 percent of women held in prison and jails. Many girls are incarcerated not because they pose a threat to the public but because of concerns for their own safety in the community—such as abusive home environments. California incarcerates more girls than any state other than Texas and can lead the way on ending girls’ incarceration nationwide.
Safeguarding Health Care Access for Transgender Communities
For decades, LGBTQ+ Americans have been at the forefront of powerful movements championing the freedom for all individuals to be themselves and pursue their dreams. This grassroots organizing has led to unprecedented public support for LGBTQ+ equality and increased visibility for transgender people within our society. However, despite growing acceptance, a dangerous political backlash threatens the progress made in securing health care access for transgender communities.
Health and Social Care Integration: Five Years of Progress on a National Academies Report
Historically, social determinants of health (SDOH) have not been addressed in health care visits. However, whether someone has a safe place to live or healthy food to eat directly impacts health. Other SDOH outlined by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion include economic stability, education access and quality, neighborhood and build environment, social and community context, and healthcare access and quality. It is critical that health care providers understand individuals’ experience of these domains; without this, the care provided is not patient-centered and does not fully address health and well-being.
Developing an Equitable Nonprofit Ecosystem: A New Funding Framework for Emerging, BIPOC-Led Grantees
In philanthropy, it is standard due diligence practice to vet potential grantees on their list of current, past, and future funders as a way to mitigate our perceived risk. However, this approach can put many emerging, grassroots, and BIPOC-led organizations out of contention for initial funding. The John Muir Community Health Fund has shifted the way we fundamentally see risk, and instead, have embraced the opportunity to fund emerging organizations that address social determinants of health by providing monetary support, capacity building, and ultimately a proof of concept that propels grantees to long-term sustainability.