New Grants Totaling Over $1.6 Million Approved by JAHF Board of Trustees
The John A. Hartford Foundation Board of Trustees has approved funding for two grants totaling up to $1,609,244 to improve care for older adults.
One urgent response grant was authorized earlier this winter to improve access to the COVID-19 vaccine for homebound older adults and individuals with disabilities. An additional grant was approved in March to support the adoption of age-friendly person-driven measures in health plans’ quality and value-based payment programs.
Urgent Response Grant:
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH): Ensuring Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine for Homebound Older Adults and Individuals with Disabilities (up to $150,000 for 3 months)
The goal of this Trust for America’s Health grant is to rapidly foster adoption of policies that will ensure homebound older adults and individuals with disabilities receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. Approximately 7.5 million people are homebound and at high risk of serious illness and death from the coronavirus. However, there has been little emphasis on how to vaccinate adults not living in nursing homes or congregate communities and who would have great difficulty in leaving their home for vaccination. TFAH will convene stakeholder organizations to influence policy and provide a forum to organize efforts by states and regions, share best practices and coordinate communications to maximize vaccination efforts. This grant is co-funded with Cambia Health Foundation.
Grant Approved in March:
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA): Supporting Age-Friendly Health Systems: Implementing and Disseminating Person-Driven Outcome Measures ($1,459,244 for 3 years)
This grant supports the National Committee for Quality Assurance in promoting use of health care quality measures that evaluate how well clinicians address “What Matters” to older adults – an essential component of the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms framework. Best care for older adults is guided by the unique health goals and priorities of the individual, yet existing quality indicators do not effectively evaluate whether individualized goals are being elicited and met. This renewal of work, co-funded with The SCAN Foundation, will support the adoption of person-driven measures in health plans’ quality and value-based payment programs by implementing pathways to widespread use of the measures; creating demand for person-driven outcome measurement; and increasing clinician and delivery system acceptance and use, thereby supporting more meaningful and personalized care.