GlaxoSmithKline Honors Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County with 14th Annual IMPACT Award
Chester County, Pa. Nonprofit is Recipient of $40,000 Award for Providing Access to Healthcare.
- Philadelphia, PA-NJ (1888PressRelease) November 16, 2010 - GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, has announced that the Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County, Inc. of West Chester, Pa., is one of its GlaxoSmithKline 14th Annual IMPACT Award recipients. The nonprofit and will receive $40,000 for having a significant impact on its community by providing access to proactive and effective healthcare services. A ceremony will be held on Monday, December 13 at GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia to honor the Philadelphia-area nonprofit.
"All of the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Award winners are leaders in the nonprofit world and in their communities," said Mary Linda Andrews, GlaxoSmithKline Director of Community Partnerships. "The dedicated teams of professionals and volunteers at these organizations are working on the front lines to provide access to healthcare at a time when people need it most. These awards provide additional resources to help them continue their important work."
Maternal and Child Health Consortium (MCHC) of Chester County is a countywide organization working to increase access to health, social, and educational services for low-income families. MCHC's bilingual, bicultural staff help reduce the roadblocks to healthcare that a growing number of Chester County families face, including language barriers, lack of health coverage, and limited public transportation. MCHC offers culturally-sensitive health education, linkages to vital resources, and support to help families ensure that their children have the opportunity to start healthy, stay healthy, and succeed in school.
MCHC's programs include the Healthy Start Program which is part of a national effort in 100 communities to improve the health and well-being of women, infants, and children. Through the program, bilingual, bicultural family health advocates provide home visits to pregnant and parenting women, serving more than 1,300 women per year. The advocates work in the communities where they reside and work one-on-one with women, providing emotional support and education on how to have a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery. Women enroll in Healthy Start while pregnant and stay with the program until their child is two years old. Independent research has found that Healthy Start infants are born healthier than infants from the same communities whose mothers are not enrolled in the program. In 2009, 97% of babies born to Healthy Start mothers were born at a healthy birth weight.
Through the Health Insurance Enrollment and Family Benefits Program, MCHC secures health insurance for more than 2,000 uninsured children and adults annually. MCHC's staff is highly knowledgeable about subsidized health insurance programs such as Medicaid and CHIP. They work with uninsured families to find health insurance for which they are eligible and help them with completing the applications (Spanish or English). MCHC also partners with community agencies to help them enroll their uninsured clients. In addition, MCHC conducts outreach and enrollment to secure health coverage for other uninsured community residents and provides enrollment into the food stamp program (SNAP).
Bilingual parent educators at the Kennett Square Family Center provide early learning skills for children up to age five. Assistance includes child developmental screenings, home visits, group parenting classes, and kindergarten enrollment assistance. Children achieve important early learning skills necessary to be successful in school.
For over 15 years, the Maternal and Child Health Consortium has integrated emerging research and trends in its field to help ensure that Chester County's most vulnerable families stay healthy and strong.
About GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards
Every year the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards acknowledge, highlight and reward nonprofit organizations that have a significant impact on their communities and are accomplished, proactive and effective in their work. GlaxoSmithKline's IMPACT Awards represent and support Innovation, Management, Partnership, Achievement, Community focus and the Targeting of needs within community-based healthcare organizations. Nonprofits that exemplify the IMPACT Awards criteria continue to provide quality, accessible healthcare to their communities despite their financial and resource limitations. Winners in previous years include organizations that provide medical and dental care for the underserved, pediatric therapy and counseling services, and disease prevention programs for high-risk populations.
GlaxoSmithKline will be accepting award applications for the GlaxoSmithKline 15th Annual IMPACT Award beginning in January 2011. In order to qualify, applicants must provide access to community healthcare services (primary mission) in the Pennsylvania counties of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Philadelphia and the City of Camden, New Jersey; have annual total operating expenses between $160,000 and $3 million, as documented in the organization's most recent fiscal year financial statement; and have been in existence as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for at least five years. A panel of local and national healthcare delivery experts and GlaxoSmithKline representatives will determine the winners based on a strong demonstration of ongoing success in providing access to healthcare; commitment to serving people in need; facilitation of healthcare delivery, substantive partnerships; policy development; and a solid record of achievement, management and leadership. For more details on the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards, visit www.gsk-us.com and click "Our work with communities," then click "Health programs," then click "Awards," or call the GlaxoSmithKline Office of Community Partnerships at 215-751-5171.
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline - one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies - is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information, visit GlaxoSmithKline on the World Wide Web at us.gsk.com.
Media Contacts: Leah Ludwig (215) 340-0480 / leah ( @ ) furiarubel dot com or Brandyn Bissinger (267) 446-7010 / brandyn ( @ ) furiarubel dot com
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