PRESS RELEASE

August 27, 2003
Contact: Christine Mulvin
(513) 458-6621

Collaborative of Foundations Provides Funding for the Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Institute will analyze, research health issues of policymakers, decision makers.


Cincinnati, OH - Eight Ohio foundations are announcing the creation of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, an independent, nonpartisan, statewide center that will forecast health trends, analyze key health issues, and communicate current research to policy-makers, state agencies, and other decision-makers.

The following foundations have agreed to provide up to five years of funding to start the Institute:

• The Anthem Foundation of Ohio (based in Cincinnati)
• The Cleveland Foundation
• The George Gund Foundation (based in Cleveland)
• The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati
• The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation (based in Cleveland)
• Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland
• Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

"Several factors have converged to make this a very important and timely thing to do," said Mitchell Balk, president of the Mount Sinai Health Care Foundation. "The federal government is pushing the states to make more and more health decisions. States are facing difficult financial environments, both now and in the future as our population ages. We need to be looking further ahead to figure out how we can reform our system to provide good care while keeping it affordable. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio will help put health information into the hands of people who make decisions."

"Most Ohio foundations are local; there are no statewide health foundations. This is the first time that regional foundations across the state have collaborated on funding an effort that thinks about things at the state policy level," said George Espy, president of the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, a statewide association of foundations and other grant makers. "Ohio Grantmakers Forum is taking a leadership role in this collaboration and is helping to fast-track the startup. We are thrilled to be supporting collaborative work of Ohio foundations."

Ohio is one of 11 states currently forming state-level health policy programs. About one-third of states already have an organization like the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.

"Everyone in Ohio is affected by how the state government decides to run things, including health programs," said Marcia Egbert, senior program officer of the George Gund Foundation. "Making decision about health programs depends on the presence of timely, accurate, and independent information, and the Institute will provide that. It will be a huge benefit to bring more and more information into these decision processes."

Ohio has a number of research centers that do some health-policy work. The institute will not replace these centers; rather, it will supplement them. "We hope that the Institute will facilitate these existing researchers by making their work easier, helping them target their work so their results will be more useful to policy-makers, and getting their information into the hands of people who can use it, said Pat O'Connor, vice president for programs of the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

The Institute will concentrate on three tasks:

• Research
  The Institute promotes and facilitates health policy research among existing research centers, universities, and other organizations. It identifies gaps in health policy research and data, designs studies, leads the development of a statewide health policy research agenda, promotes collaboration and communication among researchers, commissions research projects to fill gaps, and, as necessary, undertakes some research directly.
  
  
• Analysis
  The Institute identifies and investigates statewide health issues and trends of interest to policymakers. A particular focus is on Medicaid and uninsured and underinsured populations. The Institute provides relevant, timely, and impartial analysis to policymakers, identifies current and emerging health trends and issues, and synthesizes national and state research for use in Ohio.
  
  
• Communication
  The Institute communicates with health policy decision makers in a timely fashion about critical health issues. It establishes informative relationships with decision makers; develops white papers, policy briefings, forums, and resources for decision makers; and assists researchers in presenting important findings to policymakers and the media.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio will be located in Columbus and offices should open before the end of 2003. The Institute is actively recruiting a president; the Himmelfarb Group is managing the search (http://www.himmelfarbgroup.com; (708) 848-0086).