Centre County United Way Among First Geisinger Community Health Fund Grant Recipients

Geisinger Health has announced the recipients of its inaugural round of $1 million in Community Health Fund grants, and Centre County United Way is among the beneficiaries.

The awards were granted to nonprofit organizations working on health, social and economic needs in Geisinger’s 43-county service area. Geisinger created the grant program recognizing that unmet social needs can be detrimental to health.

Centre County United Way received $10,000 for efforts to address the opioid crisis by distributing secure medication disposal boxes and educating for proper use.

Nearby, Clearfield Area United Way received $5,000 to expand its “Lunch and Learn” program, which provides nutritious food to children who might not otherwise have access to healthy meals outside of the school week, to two new locations.

Five community health issues were identified as the targeted focus for funding: Food insecurity and healthy choices, transportation, housing stability, opioid prevention and treatment, and pediatric obesity.

“As we further partner with surrounding communities, we’re finding ZIP codes are as important as genomic codes when it comes to predicting the health of our patients,” said Dr. David T. Feinberg,  Geisinger president and CEO, in a release. “The social determinants of health, which include a patient’s income, education, employment status and ethnicity, are often considered non-medical needs, but they are all vital to positive health outcomes. We have awarded grants to those organizations we intend to work alongside as we transform healthcare at its core by focusing on preventive care.’

Geisinger expects next year’s funding round could double up to $2 million. A formal application process will soon be announced for community applications.