Our Mission

The mission of the Health Funders Partnership of Orange County is to improve local health by enhancing the impact and efficiency of health philanthropy and health service delivery in Orange County. The Partnership addresses this mission by identifying strategic issues for collaborative funding and the potential to leverage resources.

The Health Funders Partnership of Orange County is committed to creating a healthy Orange County.

History

Nine members of the funding community began meeting informally in early 1999 to explore the possibility of working collaboratively to make philanthropy strategic, leverage resources and improve access to health services for the vulnerable residents of Orange County. In February 2000, this group, now calling itself the Health Funders Partnership of Orange County, agreed that a focus on a chronic disease could be used to model a systems approach to care and targeted their initial efforts on the treatment and prevention of Type II Diabetes. The shared vision and informal "hand shake" agreement that brought the initial organizations together was formalized on September 1, 2007 with the selection of the OneOC (formerly the Volunteer Center Orange County) as fiscal sponsor. The Partnership has grown to a group of 16 foundation, corporate, private non-profit, and public sector organizations that fund in health care and has expanded its focus to strengthen the healthcare safety net for the uninsured residents of Orange County. In July 2010, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) awarded the Partnership the 5th annual "Supporting the Safety Net Award" for its work with the safety net population and recognized the organization as national model of collaboration. The Partnership is currently chaired by Richard Chambers, CEO, CalOptima.

Diabetes Initiative

Recognizing the need for better access to health care services (including prevention and education), the Partnership members agreed that a focus on a chronic disease could be used to model a systemic approach to care. Based on the findings of the 1999 Orange County Health Needs Assessment, Type II Diabetes rose prominently as an urgent need to be addressed. Systemic change does not happen overnight and the Partnership is committed to a long-term solution. To date, the Partnership has awarded over $3.3 million in grants to twelve collaborations targeting different populations and system elements to treat and ultimately prevent childhood obesity and Type II Diabetes. Over 16,600 individuals have received treatment; 100% of school nurses have been trained to screen for the disease; physical activity programs were implemented in 75 elementary school classrooms and test scores increased by over 100 points; and in collaboration with the Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative, the Partnership is working to implement a county-wide obesity prevention plan.

Health Care Safety Net

In September 2004, the Health Funders Partnership of Orange County was approached to head a county-wide effort around strengthening and enhancing the healthcare safety net in Orange County. In response to the areas of greatest need, lack of access to specialty care, lack of insurance for children and lack of federal funding to the county, the Partnership developed three collaborative programs.

Access OC Access OC provides free low-risk, out-patient surgeries, through the generosity of medical volunteers and donated hospital facilities. Access OC is also implementing eConsult to connect primary care physicians with specialists to provide improved access to specialty care.

The lack of health insurance for children impacts the entire community. Children miss school, reducing revenue to the county; parents have lost time from work and lost wages; and costly emergency room services are used for basic health care needs. Children's Health Initiative of Orange County enrolls children into insurance products and through, OC Cares, coordinates appointments at community medical and dental clinics.

Prior to support from the Partnership, the Orange County Medical Services Initiative offered only urgent and emergent care. Through our collaborative effort to increase federal funding to the County, the program now offers primary and preventive care as well as chronic disease management. This program has reduced costly emergency room usage by over 50% and has been recognized as a model program in the state.

The Future

In 2009, HFPOC brought all hospitals, the County Health Care Agency and CalOptima to the table to create an equitable, organized and integrated system for the delivery of health services to uninsured residents. This program is transformational and positions the County for the implementation of health care reform in 2014.

OneOC

OneOC, whose mission is to accelerate non-profit success, serves as the fiscal sponsor for the Health Funders Partnership. To learn more about the programs and services offered by the OneOC, please visit www.oneoc.org.