Blue Cross Blue Shield, Superior Health Foundation award over $560,000 in health improvement grants
MARQUETTE — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and the Superior Health Foundation awarded more than $560,000 in grants on Monday. The funding comes from the Investing in Upper Peninsula Health grant initiative, which awards projects aimed at improving health and access to cost-effective, quality care for U.P. residents.
One successful applicant, Munising Memorial Hospital, was awarded $65,000 to start school-based health clinics at Superior Central and Munising schools. The hope is that the clinic will bring healthcare to children and make it easier for immunizations and well-child visits to be on schedule.
“We’re very excited to be able to fill this gap that is existent in a population that doesn’t have good access, whether it be because they don’t have the right insurance coverage or they don’t have the right transportation,” said Melissa Hall, CEO of Munising Memorial Hospital.
Hall said that after the grant is up in two years, she hopes the program will be self-sufficient and include more Alger County Schools.
Fifty-seven organizations applied for grants to address issues in the local communities, 14 of which were successful. Other successful applicants include:
- Hannahville Indian Community – $33,700
- Bay Cliff Health Camp – $48,000
- Upper Peninsula Diabetes Outreach Network – $50,000
- Great Lakes Recovery Center – $50,000
- Northern Lights YMCA – $62, 952
- Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital – $65,000
- Abundant Life Mission – $65,000
- Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions – $65,000
- Upper Great Lakes Family Health – $90,000
“We are really happy to be able to have this kind of impact on the Upper Peninsula. This is something we’ve been driving for for the last three years, and the partnerships we’ve developed in this area with the Superior Health Foundation have been invaluable. We’re hoping this is just the beginning,” said Audrey Harvey, executive director and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation.