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2010 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 225
Commending the Virginia Health Care Foundation on its 18 years of service to the Commonwealth as a public-private partnership and its longstanding record of substantially leveraging state dollars to increase access to primary health care for uninsured and medically underserved Virginians.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 12, 2010
Agreed to by the Senate, February 18, 2010

 

WHEREAS, more than 1.1 million Virginians were uninsured in 2008, having little or no access to health care, and that number increased dramatically in 2009 as a result of the recession; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth contains 57 health professional shortage areas and 47 dental shortage areas where there are not enough doctors or dentists to provide care to local citizens; and

WHEREAS, the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Joint Commission on Health Care established the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) in 1992 to help create and grow a health care safety net in the Commonwealth that would increase access to primary health care for Virginia's uninsured and medically underserved citizens; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF has served the Commonwealth for 18 years, awarding a total of 300 grants that have provided more than 1.8 million patient visits to Virginia's uninsured and medically underserved; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF acts as a venture philanthropist, carefully scrutinizing grant proposals and investing in projects that will be sustained for the long term, a strategy that has resulted in an increase in the number of health safety net providers from 33 to 156 in the last 18 years; and

WHEREAS, in 2009 the VHCF's entrepreneurial approach generated $3.7 million in new federal funds for Virginia that helped establish three additional community health centers and brought the total of new federal community health center funds generated by VHCF to $10.9 million since 2005; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF's strategy of rigorous project evaluation, three-year limited funding, and focus on long-term community support has resulted in an impressive continuation of 89 percent of its "graduated" projects for at least three years after the expiration of foundation funding; and

WHEREAS, with an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, the VHCF has developed tools for Virginia's health care safety net organizations, such as The Pharmacy Connection—a special software program that facilitates access to free medications available through the brand-name pharmaceutical companies' Patient Assistance Programs—that helped obtain a record-breaking $124 million in free medications for more than 46,000 eligible uninsured Virginians last year; Leading for the Long Term, an eight-month leadership development program that helps executive directors of Virginia's health care safety net organizations address their many unique challenges; and a special dental discount program for Virginia's 73 community-based dental safety net providers that works in conjunction with the Patterson Dental Company, which has saved $271,889 in just two years; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF has also established several special initiatives to help Virginia's most fragile citizens navigate complicated government systems to obtain the health care they need, including: Project Connect, which just enrolled its 50,000th child in the state's Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS) programs; the Rx Partnership (RxP), which in its first four years of operation has obtained free medicines worth over $23 million for Virginia's uninsured citizens, working in partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Abbott, Alcon, and sanofi-aventis U.S.; and SeniorNavigator, a multifunctional Internet tool that has earned state and national recognition as a valued public service, helping seniors and caregivers to navigate the complex array of health and aging services; and

WHEREAS, most recently, the VHCF raised $1 million to match a $1 million challenge grant derived from settlement funds from Attorney General Bob McDonnell and has applied the full $2 million to underwrite nine collaborative initiatives among community services boards and local free clinics or community health centers, which will expand the availability of basic mental health services and related medicines for uninsured Virginians over the next three years; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF's unique public-private approach has been recognized nationally by the federal Bureau of Primary Health Care, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Harvard School of Public Health and was the recipient of the Innovation in Government Award by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2006; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF’s many accomplishments have been achieved with low administrative costs, which only represented 11.9 percent of total expenditures in fiscal year 2009; and

WHEREAS, the VHCF provides a tremendous return on the Commonwealth's investment, averaging a return of more than 11 dollars for every dollar expended for the last 18 years; and

WHEREAS, many of Virginia's finest corporations and organizations have made financial commitments to the VHCF during the past year, including AMERIGROUP Foundation, Annabella R. Jenkins Foundation, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, BB&T, Boehringer Ingelheim Chemicals, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bon Secours Virginia, Capital One, Carilion Foundation, Cat and Mouse, Inc., Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, Community Memorial Health Center, Danville Regional Foundation, Delta Dental of Virginia, Dominion Foundation, Doral Dental USA, Eli Lilly and Company, ExxonMobil Corporation, Falls Church Lithotripsy, LLC, Gwathmey Memorial Trust, HCA Virginia, Holly Delano Design, LLC, Inova Health System, Intecardia, Kaiser Permanente, Keiter, Stephens, Hurst, Gary & Shreaves PC, KOL Bio-Medical Instruments, Inc., LogistiCare Solutions, LLC, Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, Medical Society of Virginia, MediCorp Health System, Merck & Company, Owens & Minor, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Prince William-Fauquier Cancer Center, Radiology Imaging Associates, Richard S. Reynolds Foundation, Riverside Health System Foundation, Roanoke Ambulatory Surgery Center, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Robins Foundation, Scott Foundation, Sentara Healthcare, Tidewater Orthopaedic Associates, Tom French Flowers, Virginia Association of Health Plans, Virginia Dental Association, Virginia Community Healthcare Association, Wachovia Foundation, Weissberg Foundation, Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, and Wyeth; and

WHEREAS, over the past 18 years, the VHCF, through its combined efforts, has helped more than 600,000 uninsured and medically underserved Virginians obtain primary health care; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Virginia Health Care Foundation on the occasion of its 18 years as a public-private partnership, its outstanding service to the Commonwealth, and its many successful efforts to increase access to primary health care for Virginia's uninsured citizens; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Virginia Health Care Foundation's many private sector partners and encourage them to continue their support of this effective and dynamic organization by making significant contributions to increase access to primary health care for Virginia's uninsured and medically underserved citizens; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That Virginia's other corporate citizens and philanthropic entities be encouraged to contribute their various talents and resources to the efforts of the Virginia Health Care Foundation; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Virginia Health Care Foundation as an expression of the General Assembly's gratitude for its dedication to quality health care for all Virginians.