Maria de los Santos Health Center featured in recent Univision Health Partners CHIP Ad
Delaware Valley Community Health receives grant from Independence Blue Cross Foundation
For the 2011-2012 grant period, $200,000 was given in support of the Maria de los Santos Health Center in North Philadelphia and the Norristown Regional Health Center in Montgomery County. Funding was made available through the foundation's Blue Safety Net initiative, which is one of three major areas the foundation will target in an effort to help transform health care through innovation in the Philadelphia region.
The IBC Foundation's support will help Delaware Valley Community Health offer services such as adult, pediatric, and women’s health care, as well dental, podiatry, health education and social work services which have become an integral part of what we offer and what our patients appreciate and need to stay healthy. IBC has been an extraordinary partner in helping to expand and continue to support the operations of our facilities as we better serve our patients in both Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. In 2010 over 43,000 individuals were provided with health care and supportive services through over 157,000 medical visits.
The foundation's support for clinics expands upon IBC's commitment to improving health care access for the under and uninsured. Since 2005, Independence Blue Cross has contributed nearly $15 million to help support 36 private, nonprofit health clinics that serve nearly 120,000 patients and provide 400,000 visits annually in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
Rafael Reyes, a Security Guard, collected 2,500 petition signatures over just a few weeks time!
Delaware Valley Community Health, Inc., joined with health centers across the nation last summer to participate in the Campaign For America’s Health Centers’ year-long National Petition & Letter Drive. To-date, the health center has collected more than 3,000 petition signatures. As you read in the story below, much of this success can be attributed to the dedication of one health center advocate:
Rafael Reyes was born in the Dominican Republic and now works proudly as the Security Guard at the Maria De Los Santos Health Center in North Philadelphia.Upon launching our campaign to protect Federal Community Health Center funding, the staff at the Center were told about the petitions that would be available on tables in the waiting room. He and the front desk staff were given the forms explaining the petition and why signatures were important to the community. That is all it took. He then made it his personal mission to get as many signatures as possible.
He canvassed the health center numerous times a day, talking to patients and visitors asking for support, and building trust among the patient population. He even sought the signatures of the employees of the health center. He was relentless in his quest to obtain as many signatures as possible. Collecting 2,500 signatures over a few weeks’ time can be fully attributed to the efforts of Mr. Reyes.
This story teaches us that one person can make a difference as a grassroots champion.