Health Affairs

If you are taking some time off this week for Easter or Passover, you may want to dust off that resumé and apply for one of these positions. I have included a few interesting points about each position, but read the full position description for many more details. These jobs were posted on foundation websites... Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some openings that I found today on various foundations’ web sites and by word of mouth. Positions range from foundation presidents to a program assistant! Three Foundations Are Seeking New Presidents The Commonwealth Fund, as many of you know, is seeking a new president, because its long-time and well-known president, Karen Davis, is stepping down... Read the rest of this entry »

Overuse of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance are serious problems that many people seem unaware of. Witness those who go into a physician’s office with a bad cold and insist upon being prescribed an antibiotic. A cold is caused by a virus, and antibiotics are ineffective on viruses. In today’s post, GrantWatch Blog looks at some... Read the rest of this entry »

More and more foundations, it seems, are interested in oral health these days. The topic generated some buzz at a Grantmakers In Health meeting earlier this month, I noticed. The November issue of Health Affairs, just released this week, has a peer-reviewed GrantWatch paper on oral health care for children. Its abstract is free to... Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a round-up of some “people news” at foundations and public charities around the country from the past few months. I have included staff and board of trustee changes and other news. Gary Cohen has been named chair of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Foundation’s board. Cohen is executive vice president... Read the rest of this entry »

GrantWatch Blog has been on its Fourth of July break. Below, in this post-holiday edition I’ve gathered links to several blog posts that you may want to add to your reading list. Global Health Malaria: “Saving Lives: When the Impossible Becomes Possible,” Alexandra Farnum on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Foundation Blog, June 24. In this... Read the rest of this entry »

Catherine Hess of the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) reports on how foundations are supporting efforts to foster dialogue between states and stakeholders during implementation of health reform. Facts, not ideology, should ground discussions was among the lessons learned at a meeting of state officials and advocates in southern states. Even in political... Read the rest of this entry »

Next week, Mental Health Month begins. Paul Gionfriddo, who has his own blog, “Our Health Policy Matters,” wrote this post. He is the former president of a foundation in South Florida. The United States has the highest rate of mental illness in the world. According to Mental Health America, one in four Americans has a... Read the rest of this entry »

This is the second in a series of short posts on my trip to Los Angeles to cover the Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Annual Meeting earlier this month. Humans need physical activity as much as they need food. Unfortunately, they have no internal prompt to be active, and they are programmed to be sedentary, said... Read the rest of this entry »

Below, we list the three most-read posts of the month. Take a look in case you missed one of these when the original tweet or e-alert was sent out. 1. “Update on What Foundations Have Been Doing in Oral Health Care” (Jan. 27, 2011). Read about the efforts of a number of foundations all over... Read the rest of this entry »

At the end of each year, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) staffers look at research published during the past twelve months and choose several peer-reviewed articles that the staff deems to have “had major impact on research or influenced the field,” according to the foundation’s web site. All articles on the list are written by... Read the rest of this entry »

Use of fluoride is known to reduce tooth decay. Earlier this month, the federal government announced plans to lower the amount of fluoride in water because of concerns that some children were receiving too much of it. This prompted me to revisit the subject of oral health and what some foundations around the country have... Read the rest of this entry »

Mental illness has been on the minds of many people this week, after the shootings in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday. A University of Virginia forensic clinical psychologist and professor says in a CNN.com opinion piece this week, “The rampage shooting in Arizona is another anguishing reminder that mental health is the weakest link in our... Read the rest of this entry »

Read about the nonpartisan election-related efforts of three foundations. (As you may know, 501(c)(3) private foundations are prohibited from participating in political campaigns. For details, see this Internal Revenue Service publication.) Publication of the Views of Candidates in One Statewide Race Bob Ross, president and chief executive officer of  the California Endowment (TCE), said in an e-mail... Read the rest of this entry »

As the media have been reporting on New Orleans at the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, it is also an opportune time for the GrantWatch Blog to report on how foundations have been helping in the Crescent City and surrounding area. Foundations have awarded grants to inform the general public about the status of New Orleans,... Read the rest of this entry »

With First Lady Michelle Obama’s interest in fresh produce from the garden, we are reminded of how good it is, especially this time of year, to indulge in fresh fruits and vegetables. Check out this four-color magazine recently released by a foundation in Pittsburgh. The Heinz Endowments recently released the first “food issue” of its... Read the rest of this entry »

Here are links to some recent health-related posts on other philanthropy blogs. Health Disparities Report Shows Health Disparities between White and Minority Boys and Young Men: This June 30, 2010, post by Daniel Weintraub describes a collection of five reports funded by the California Endowment (TCE), which were released that day. The findings show that... Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a sampling of what foundations and others are doing in the important area of oral health care. Recent reports: The Cost of Delay: State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children was released 23 February 2010 by the Pew Center on the States (part of the Pew Charitable Trusts). The report was funded... Read the rest of this entry »

In honor of Earth Day 2010, I thought I would mention a few foundations that have funded environmental health efforts. While I was at the Grantmakers In Health (GIH) annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, in March 2010, I attended a session titled “Environmental Justice at a Crossroads: From Protest to Sustainability.” Unfortunately, as it was... Read the rest of this entry »

Health Affairs focuses on child obesity in its March 2010 issue and is publishing related content throughout the month of March, including a Web First article and Health Affairs Blog posts from Sen. Tom Harkin and Sen. Mike Enzi. For the GrantWatch Blog, we offer here a round-up of obesity funding news. RWJF Program Director Testifies at Senate... Read the rest of this entry »