OREANDA-NEWS. September 26, 2012. In an effort to increase Americans’ access to quality healthcare, the GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of GE, has awarded USD 500,000 in grants to two Dallas community health care centers: Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Clinic.

The donations are being made under the umbrella of the GE Foundation’s Developing Health initiative, a multi-year, USD 50 million commitment that provides grant funding and volunteer support to targeted not-for-profit healthcare centers across the country that focus on delivering primary care to underserved populations.

Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic, based in a West Dallas neighborhood, serves an average of 23,000 patients annually. About half of the patients are children, from newborns to 17 year-olds. Open since 1972, the clinic has expanded from two mobile trailers in one of Dallas’ most impoverished neighborhoods to over 50,000 square feet of clinic space, including a satellite clinic in Grand Prairie, Texas. A new 20,000 square foot clinic, set to open in Southwest Dallas in 2014, will serve an additional 5,000 patients in its first year and create new jobs where they are most needed.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Clinic, founded in 1986, operates a 20,000 square foot facility in a “medically underserved” area. The clinic provides a wide range of medical specialties such as pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, dental and internal medicine, as well as services such as immunizations, pharmacy, family planning, WIC, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, and transportation assistance.

Both organizations will use the funds to expand access to primary care for low-income uninsured and underinsured Dallas-area residents.

Additional Organizational Support
Each GE Developing Health grant recipient organization in the U.S. receives, in addition to a financial commitment, the support of GE employee volunteers. The volunteers provide skill-building assistance to each organization, and they carry out projects that benefit patients.

There are more than 225 GE Volunteers councils in 51 countries; each is responsible for addressing the serious social issues facing its own communities. Together, they donated 1.3 million volunteer hours to 6,200 projects in 2011. In the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, over 700 employees and their family members contributed over 2,000 hours working on 90 local projects.

“At GE,” said GE Capital, Equipment Finance CEO and GE company officer Diane Cooper, “we use a three-pronged approach when working with our community partners that I call bucks, brains and brawn. Today’s donation addresses our financial commitment, but there’s much more to it. We’ll share GE’s best practices and mobilize hundreds of GE Dallas employees to help tackle important work projects for these two dedicated healthcare providers.”

“These healthcare centers provide critical services, and these awards will help further their good work,” said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). “Access to quality healthcare at the local level is so important and I’m happy that these grants will go towards serving the needs of my constituents. The financial contribution will help ensure the wellbeing of the people in Texas and healthcare systems in our community.”

“We feel so fortunate that Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic has received grant funding and employee volunteer support from a private sector leader like GE,” said Los Barrios Unidos CEO Leonor Marquez, MBA, LCSW. “GE is very generous with its resources and, ultimately, Dallas’ most at-risk communities will be the direct beneficiaries of this generosity. Healthy people make a healthy community.”

"On behalf of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Clinic board of directors and staff, I am honored that we have been selected to partner with GE,” said CEO Joyce E. Tapley, MHA. “This public-private partnership will shed new light on both organizations as we implement traditional and creative best practices. And best of all, we’ll be able to help our patients become even healthier and happier.”

Developing Health Program
The Developing Health program is modeled after GE’s successful philanthropic program called Developing Health Globally (DHG). Launched in Africa in 2004 with the support of the GE Foundation and GE’s Affinity Networks, DHG now extends to 14 countries across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. DHG aims to improve access to quality healthcare for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. The program uses GE core competencies — including technology, expertise and employee engagement — to offer sustainable “enterprise solutions” to address some of the critical gaps that exist in developing-world healthcare facilities.

Launched in October 2009, the U.S. version is a partnership between GE Corporate Citizenship and the GE Corporate Diversity Council. Since its initial funding commitment to four clinics in the New York City area, the program has expanded to fund 87 not-for-profit healthcare organizations in 25 cities, including Houston. Developing Health helps drive GE’s healthymagination initiative, a commitment to help change the world’s approach to healthcare by lowering costs, touching more lives and improving quality.

“Recognizing a critical need in the U.S. healthcare system, the Developing Health program seeks to fill the gap in access to quality care for underserved communities,” said Bob Corcoran, president of the GE Foundation. “Our partnership with these two strong Dallas providers is a great example of the positive impact that the Developing Health program can make by combining funding with the volunteer support of GE’s people.”