Health Affairs

Anne Weiss is a senior program officer who directs the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Quality/Equality Health Care team. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recently released a new report and convened leading policy makers and other influencers for an important discussion on one of the biggest problems facing our health care system: avoidable hospital readmissions.... Read the rest of this entry »

My GrantWatch column in the newly released February 2013 issue of Health Affairs focuses on what foundations around the country have been funding in these areas. Of course, the column includes only a sampling of foundation-funded activities. The column is free access to all. Health philanthropy has been exploring patient engagement in its grant making... Read the rest of this entry »

My GrantWatch column in the recently released January 2013 issue of Health Affairs focuses on the workforce and foundations’ efforts to strengthen it. The column provides a snapshot of what foundations around the United States are funding. A variety of funders are interested in health professions workforce topics. In my small sampling, it appears that... Read the rest of this entry »

It has been a long time since I have done a round-up of posts on other philanthropy blogs that have caught my eye, so today is the day! Other topics covered below include social determinants of health (specifically, housing), “tasksharing” in global health, and charities’ use of data. I love having the opportunity to peruse the... Read the rest of this entry »

Veterans Day is Sunday, November 11, and for some of us, Monday, November 12, is a public holiday. In observation of this day honoring the many veterans in the United States—who have served in the military here in the United States and/or in another country and have protected the United States from harm—I thought I would mention... Read the rest of this entry »

The author served on the Institute of Medicine panel that wrote a recent report on the health professions workforce that will be needed to care for older people with mental illness and substance use conditions. He is executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, in Austin, Texas. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report,... Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I would start off the week with some people news. I am a bit behind on my reading, but I wanted to let you know about four foundation leaders who were recently named to these lists. Modern Healthcare 2012 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare list Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the... Read the rest of this entry »

On August 28 I attended the launch of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Patient Care Program. This national funder, based in Palo Alto, wants to do transformative work in this area and is prepared to commit $500 million over ten years to do it, if all goes well. Yes, you read that right: that... Read the rest of this entry »

The president of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation describes a recently announced initiative, cofunded with the Robert Wood Johnson, John A. Hartford, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundations, to get the health professions to learn together, then practice, as a real team. A growing body of evidence shows that health care delivered by well-functioning teams... Read the rest of this entry »

Periodically, I do a people post here, similar to the class notes in an alumni magazine! Find out whatever became of that person who was your program officer or who sat next to you at a conference. Gwyn Barley has been named director of programs for the Colorado Trust. In this position, she will be... Read the rest of this entry »

Foundations are funding efforts to inform policy makers and others about the status of primary care, to expand access to primary care, and more. The latest issue of Health Affairs contains a sampling of what philanthropy is doing. In case you missed it, read “Foundation Efforts to Meet Demand for Primary Care,” the GrantWatch column... Read the rest of this entry »

I have put together a listing here of some foundation-related blog posts that you may want to check out. Now that summer has arrived, perhaps things are slowing down in your workplace, and you now have time for some professional reading! Links to a wide variety of posts follow. Incidentally, if you work for a... 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 »

I have pulled together a list of links to philanthropy-related blog posts that have come across my desk in recent weeks. I hope that you will see a few that pique your interest. During this short week between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, I am keeping my “roundup” post—covering several important topics—short! Happy New... Read the rest of this entry »

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), sent out a Letter to the Field on Dec. 14. The letter’s audience was RWJF grantees and partners (and for “the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted solely to the public’s health,” that encompasses a big group). Here is some of what she... Read the rest of this entry »

Here are links to other recent blog posts from and about health philanthropy that caught my eye. The topics range from health professions to health reform to hospitals. (The blogs mentioned are all listed in our Blogroll on the right side of the GrantWatch Blog page.) “A Boost to Better Care,” by Chris Langston, on... Read the rest of this entry »

The most-read GrantWatch Blog post during this time period reported that the philanthropic community had a terrific showing in the June 2010 issue of Health Affairs. Numerous articles published in that issue, which had the theme of “Moving Forward on Health Reform,” were related in some way to foundations: Foundation staffers were authors of some articles, and foundations funded... Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some more items that have come across my desk in recent months that you may want to check out. Health Care for the Elderly Request for Proposals (RFP): The Step Up to Stop Falls: Falls Prevention Collaborative aims “to help older adults to continue living safely in the community for as long as... Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some more examples of foundations’ efforts. This is just a sampling, not a comprehensive listing, of what foundations have been doing. Rhode Island Foundation and Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Announce Creation of Statewide Coalition for Primary Care Announced at a May 27, 2010, event, the new coalition, “which will coordinate efforts to improve access to... Read the rest of this entry »