HomeMy Public PortalAbout2023.04.17 Blue Cross Impact Report 2022FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES
Blue Cross of Idaho established the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for
Health in 2001 to give back to Idaho. The Foundation is a separate
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is dedicated to giving back to
Idaho and addressing the root causes that impact health.
One of our goals at the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is to help create transformational
change that leads to a healthier Idaho. We know our partnerships, programs, projects, and funding lead
to change that will last for generations.
Transformational change doesn't happen quickly, and in most cases, it can take years to occur. In an era
where instant gratification and getting things we want ASAP are the norm; we don't lose sight that our
strategy is a more like a marathon than a sprint. We remain steadfast in our approach of how we give
back to Idaho and address the root causes that impact health.
A testament to our strategy and work came in November when national philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
provided the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health a one-time, unsolicited, and unrestricted gift
of $6 million. Visit our website to learn more about our strategy for using those funds to maximize our
impact across Idaho.
We are committed to being in Idaho, for Idaho. We continually listen to our valued partners, review
data, consult with experts to identify trends and learn how we can best give back and serve the needs of
our state.
This impact report celebrates both our current work, as well as past and ongoing work where we are
seeing transformational change occur in our focus areas of community, education and healthcare.
If you're holding a printed copy of this report, it includes QR codes that you can scan with your
smartphone to watch videos and access links that help bring these stories to life. These links are
embedded in the digital version of this report that can be found on our website at bcidahofoundation.
org. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay informed about our work and funding
opportunities.
In good health,
Mike Reynoldson
President and Board Chair,
Blue Cross of Idaho
Foundation for Health
Kendra Witt -Doyle, PhD, MPH
Executive Director,
Blue Cross of Idaho
Foundation for Health
We are dedicated to giving back to Idaho and addressing the root causes
that impact health.
Ct MMUNITY
Build healthy communities 1 00
and address root causes that
impact health by engaging
with local elected officials
and organizations
COMMUNITY HEALTH ACADEMY
Local elected officials play a vital role in promoting health
Community Health Academy fosters learning and skill -building among mayors and city staff on how they
can create a healthy community.
How It Works:
Mayors and city staff members participate in
presentations and demonstrations on topics
that impact community health.
Topics Include:
Childcare & Early Education
Civility
Communications & Branding
Designing Healthy Communities
Food Systems
Housing
Leadership
24 Idaho cities have attended Community
Health Academy since 2017
SUMESS STORY: MMMUNITY HEANTH ASADEMY
Payette
Payette Mayor Craig Jensen reads a civility pledge at
the start of every City Council meeting or public
hearing. It's one of the takeaways he implemented
after attending the Community Health Academy in
2022. Jensen took a civility pledge template given to
participants of the academy and modified it to fit his
community needs.
Civility has become a critical issue in Idaho and our
country, especially during public meetings.Numerous
public officials have shared with us that they are seeing
a rise in uncivil discourse in their communities.
"I adopted this because I felt it was something we
need to put out front," Jensen said. "That's what we
expect in our meetings — for people to have respect
and the decency to listen to others. You can disagree,
but you can disagree without arguing."
Not only does it address
what we need to do for the
public, but what we expect
out of the public. We remind
them to listen, to pay
attention, not to argue and
wait for their turn to speak.
I thought it was a brilliant
thing to start in our city.
Craig Jensen
Payette Mayor
Programs and Projects Funded By
Community Health Academy Grants:
Park improvements
Outdoor exercise equipment
Supports for additional dwelling units
Walkability improvements
Trail connectivity and improvements
Pathway projects
Senior Citizen center kitchen updates
Comprehensive plan supports
Local food system supports
Community garden
Safe Routes to School programming
Economic development supports for
business incubator
Watch a short video
about Community
Health Academy
VQV
Nine Community Transformation Grants have been
awarded to Idaho cities since 2013, and the impact
on these communities will last for generations through
the partnerships, policies, programs and projects that
resulted from the multiyear grants.
COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION GRANT EVALUATION
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health wanted to
learn ways it could improve the Community Transformation
Grant to make it more impactful. We commissioned a
developmental evaluation that retrospectively looked at
past recipients and the most recent grants with Orofino
and Twin Falls.
COMMUNITY
TRANSFORMATION GRANT
Evaluation Findings
of respondents said relationships
900,/ o with others improved
of grant participants said this grant
10ir/O increased their knowledge of health
issues
CTG funding had a catalytic effect,
helping communities attract other private
and public resources
CTG spurred innovation by providing funding
for pilot programs that were later taken on and
supported by city governments
* Bonners Ferry
Sandpoint
Orofino „ *
Lapwai
Middleton
Nampa **
Kuna
id
Twin Falls
Rexburg
Now everything we're doing — paving streets,
looking at parks — is geared toward "what's
the healthy aspect?"
Anonymous Survey Response
Next Steps
The Foundation will examine the evaluation
data and make improvements to its
Community Transformation Grant program.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
The City of Rexburg committed to learning and
community health by participating in three Blue
Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health programs.
Mayor's Walking
Challenge
2017-2021
These programs gave city leaders data, tools, skills and resources to implement a variety of health -focused
programs, projects, policies and plans to improve the health of the community. This planning helped the city
attract more than $200,000 in additional grant funding from other sources.
Rexburg Success Projects
Transforms the city -owned Teton Lakes Golf Course
into a winter sports park each year with a sledding
hill, Nordic skiing and equipment rentals
Farmer's Market supports
Updated city comprehensive plan to include a health
focus in 2021
Launched a business incubator to help local
entrepreneurs build their home businesses
Park improvements and development
Paths and trails to improve connectivity
Launched Kidsburg, an indoor discovery center
targeting young children
All of this has really helped
us think that there is a holistic
way to think about health in
our community.
Jerry Merrill
Mayor
Watch a short video
showing the
transformational
change in Rexburg
EDUCAT
Remove barriers to
education and address
root causes that impact
health by collaborating
with schools, communities
and organizations
49 34 23
SCHOOLS
SCHOOL COUNTIES
DISTRICTS
SCHOLARSHIPS
funded by the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health
THE COLLEGE
(y IDAHO
These scholarships are awarded to second -year students
who have demonstrated a financial need, outstanding
academic performance, and community service.
UniversityofIdaho
WWAMI Medical Education
These scholarships reduce medical education expenses
and encourage students to pursue their passion in
practicing medicine in rural Idaho.
Idaho State
University
These scholarships support students from Idaho
seeking behavioral health degrees that incentivize student
clinical placement in rural areas to improve healthcare
access in Idaho.
UniversityofIdaho
These scholarships remove the barrier of unmet financial
need for Idaho students.
1.1
LEWIS j1CLARK
STATE COLLEGE
These renewable scholarships support students from Idaho
majoring in the healthcare -related fields.
The Primary Care Initiative
More doctors for our communities
Supports student doctors who demonstrate outstanding
character, academic excellence, financial need and a
sincere interest in practicing primary care in rural Idaho.
SUCCESS STORY: EDUCATION
Scholarship Spotlights
Adolfo Andazola-Carmona
Idaho WWAMI
Elana King Nakaoka
Idaho WWAMI
Jarrod Hansen
Lewis and Clark State College
Peyton Badger
College of Idaho
Demsie Butler
Idaho WWAMI
Rhegan McGregor
Idaho WWAMI
Timmer Verhaegh
College of Idaho
Learn more about
these and other
scholarship recipients
EDUCATLN
There is a youth behavioral health crisis
happening in Idaho.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
MIL
We cannot ignore this crisis. We are failing Idaho's youth if we don't address this issue. We need to meet
students and families where kids spend most of their of time when not at home — schools — and make sure they
have access to skills and resources to combat this crisis.
We recognize things can be done in schools to
help parents, families, and school staff address
the behavioral health crisis. With every county in
Idaho facing a shortage in behavioral health
providers, schools can be part of the solution to
help Idaho youth.
T
e
Watch a short video
about the impact of
behavioral health
services in schools
What We're Doing
The Healthy Minds
Partnership helps schools
offer onsite clinic
behavioral health services
We support evidence -
based programs that
support students in the
classroom
We provide essential
district -approved training
to teachers and
administrators to put them
in a better position to help
their students succeed
SUCCESS STORY: EDUCATION
Lincoln County Youth Center
Education and health go
hand in hand as education
is an important predictor of
overall health outcomes.
Data shows that children who
attend preschool are better
prepared for elementary
school.
We made an investment in the Lincoln County
Youth Center, which serves three communities
(Dietrich, Richfield and Shoshone) in the county.
Our involvement has helped the nonprofit
Lincoln County Youth Commission attract
additional funding sources to help expand its
services.
Programming Example'
Life skills:
Children learn skills such as
food preparation and budgeting,
sewing, painting
Business basics and entrepreneurship:
The business incubator program helps
teach skills, pairs the participant with a
business mentor and provides $500 in
startup support
Next Steps Room:
A place where children can learn
about different options for them
after high school, including college,
trade schools or military servcice
120 21
KIDS SERVED
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
CREATED
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES OFFERED
DOUBLED PRESCHOOL CAPACITY
if
What we are doing at the
center is helping kids and
having a huge impact on
families. We have a long way
to go and a lot of work to do,
but we are providing a place
where kids feel like they
belong.
Karma Metzler Fitzgerald
President, Lincoln County
Youth Commission
HE. LTHCARE
Connect existing healthcare and community
services to address workforce needs and skills in
rural Idaho
�-- Th
in the nation
FOR THE NUMBER OF PRIMARY CARE
PROVIDERS PER 100,000 RESIDENTS
1,327 total
in the nation
NUMBER OF ACTIVE PHYSICIANS AND
RESIDENT PHYSICIANS PER 100,000
RESIDENTS
Only 3,504 active physicians in Idaho
THE PRIMARY CARE INITIATIVE
The Primary Care Initiative
More doctors for our communities.
Idaho and its rural communities face a chronic
shortage of primary care physicians. The Primary
Care Initiative is dedicated to helping improve
access to healthcare for Idahoans.
The Primary Care Initiative encourages new doctors
to practice in rural Idaho by:
• Paying down tuition debt for medical
graduates who commit to practicing primary
care in rural Idaho
• Funds scholarships for medical students
planning to go into primary care
Learn more about
The Primary Care
Initiative
Family medicine physician Logan Jones, DO, is
the first physician to receive assistance from the
Primary Care Initiative's medical education debt
repayment award. Jones practices at the North
Canyon Medical Center in Jerome, one of 27
critical access hospitals in Idaho.
SUCCESS STORY: HEALTHCARE
Project ECHO
ECHO Idaho is a free, virtual,
jointly -accredited continuing
education opportunity for Idaho's
healthcare workforce
ECHO Idaho trains primary care clinicians to provide specialty care services. Since its launch in 2018, ECHO
Idaho has offered 15 unique series to Idaho healthcare workforce and administrators.
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health supported ECHO Idaho to conduct outreach in rural areas that
increased its reach. A Foundation grant helped establish the ECHO Idaho Behavioral Health Endowment.
Clinicians
reached
Counties
reached
Number of
CME hours
Number of
ECHO sessions
2018 21
8
112
9
2022 884
35
6,083
160
ECHO Benefits Idaho
Healthcare Providers
When Nurse Practitioner Katelin Arnold moved from
Texas back to her native Idaho to work for Panhandle
Health District, she found the healthcare system was
tougher to navigate. "There were lots of challenges
for me, like finding somebody to ask questions to,
especially specialists," she said.
ECHO Idaho has been her go -to resource.
One series Arnold followed was on Hepatitis C and
Liver Care. It allowed her to learn from specialists and
gave her confidence and knowledge to treat a patient
with Hepatitis C for the first time. She previously
would have referred the patient to a specialist.
"I was able to treat my first patient until they had zero
viral load for Hepatitis C, and I definitely would not
have done that without this program," she said.
The topics and the categories
they have are so important and
really focused on what we're
seeing now. They really apply to
my patient population.
Katelin Arnold
Nurse Practitioner
Current ECHO Idaho Programming
Behavioral Health in Primary Care
Counseling Techniques for Substance
Use Disorder
COVID-19 and Other Current Infections
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD)
Opioids, Pain and Substance Use Disorder
Pediatric Autism
Viral Hepatitis and Liver Care
X -Waiver Training
ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTED IN 2022
Idaho Cities
Albion
American Falls
Ammon
Arimo
Bancroft
Blackfoot
Boise
Bovill
Buhl
Caldwell
Carey
Cascade
Chubbuck
Clark Fork
Cottonwood
Crouch
Dalton Gardens
Dayton
Deary
Dietrich
Dover
Downey
Driggs
East Hope
Emmett
Fairfield
Ferdinand
Firth
Franklin
Garden City
Glenns Ferry
Grace
Hayden
Hayden Lake
Hazelton
Heyburn
Hollister
Homedale
Idaho City
Idaho Falls
lona
Jerome
Juliaetta
Kamiah
Kendrick
Ketchum
Lapwai
Lewiston
Malad
McCall
Meridian
Montpelier
Moscow
Mountain Home
Moyie Springs
Mud Lake
Murtaugh
Nampa
New Meadows
Nezperce
Onaway
Orofino
Parma
Payette
Peck
Placerville
Pocatello
Ponderay
Post Falls
Potlatch
Preston
Rexburg
Richfield
Rigby
Roberts
Sandpoint
Shelley
Smelterville
Spirit Lake
St. Anthony
St. Charles
Stanley
Star
Tensed
Tetonia
Twin Falls
Victor
Weiser
Wendell
Weston
Winchester
Worley
Idaho Nonprofit Organizations
Elk City Area Alliance
Home Partnership Foundation
Idaho Association for the
Education of Young Children
Idaho Association of School
Administrators
Idaho Community Foundation
Idaho Community Health Workers
Association
Idaho Counseling Association
Idaho School Boards Association
League of Idaho Cities, Inc.
LEAP Charities, Inc.
Pocatello Free Clinic
Primary Care Initiative
Rotary District 5080 Charitable
Fund
Schools and School Districts
American Falls School District
Amity Elementary
Black Canyon Elementary
Blackfoot Heritage Sixth Grade
Bliss Joint School District
Caldwell School District
Camas County School District
Cascade School District
Castleford Joint School District
Centennial High
Challis Elementary
Clark County Schools
Classical Christian Academy
Clover Christian
Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy
Coeur d'Alene School District
County of Shoshone Joint School
District
Eagle Rock Middle
Emmett School District
Ernest Hemingway Steam
Farmin Stidwell Elementary
Fernan Elementary
Filer Elementary
Filer School District
Fremont County Joint School
District
Frontier Elementary
Hansen Elementary
Heritage Christian Academy
Hillcrest Elementary
Hillside Junior High
Homedale School District
Horizon Elementary
Horseshoe Bend School District
Idaho Falls High
Idaho Falls School District
Idaho Home Learning Academy
Jefferson Elementary
Jefferson County School District
Jerome School District
Juliaetta Elementary
Kellogg School District
Kendrick Joint School District
Kootenai Technical Education
Campus
Kuna School District
Lake Pend Oreille School
District
Lakeland School District
Lava Hot Springs Elementary
Lewiston School District
Liberty Elementary
Madison Middle
Madison School District
Marsing Joint School District
Mary McPherson Elementary
Maxine Johnson Elementary
Minidoka School District
Mountain Home School District
Mullan School District
Nampa School District
Nezperce Joint School District
North Gem School District
North Idaho STEM Charter
Academy
North Star Charter
Notus School District
Ola Elementary
Parma School District
Pocatello/Chubbuck School
District
Preston School District
Prospect Elementary
Richfield School District
Riggins Elementary
Roosevelt Elementary
Shelley School District
Shoshone Elementary
South Fork Elementary
South Hills Middle
Taylorview Middle
Thomas Jefferson Charter
Twin Falls School District
Valley View Elementary
Venture High
Wallace School District
White Pine Elementary
Wilder School District
West Ada School District
Government Organizations
Idaho Commission on Hispanic
Affairs
Idaho Head Start Collaboration
Office
Central District Health
State of Idaho Department of
Education
Colleges and Universities
The College of Idaho
Idaho State University
Foundation
Lewis Clark State College
Foundation
University of Idaho Foundation
Our Board of Directors
Jenny Robertson
Vice Chair
Boise
Elva (Cookie) Allan
Coeur d'Alene
Marybeth Flachbart
Boise
Luke Malek
Coeur d'Alene
Mike Reynoldson
President and Board Chair
Boise
Stephanie Wright
Nampa
Pam McNamara
Boise
ABOUT THE BLUE CROSS OF IDAHO
FOUNDATION FOR HEALTH
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, Inc., is a
nonprofit private foundation established by Blue Cross of
Idaho in 2001.
The Foundation is dedicated to giving back to Idaho and
addressing the root causes that impact health.
The Foundation is a catalytic organization dedicated to
transformational approaches that will impact Idaho today and
for future generations.
Audited financial statements of the Blue Cross of Idaho
Foundation for Health, Inc., are available, once issued,
by emailing nfo@bcidahofoundation.org.
bcidahofoundation.orq
350 N. 9th Street
Suite 301-A
Gt,,.ee in se17n7
Blue
Cross of Idaho
Foundation
for Health, Inc.