For Health of Vulnerable Populations, grantmaking decisions are based on an organization's ability to achieve one or more of the following objectives:

1. Measurably increase supply of and access to health care (prevention and treatment) for vulnerable populations¹

• Enhance operational efficiencies and infrastructure of health care safety net organizations²
• Increase the number of and availability of providers serving vulnerable populations
• Increase coordination and continuity of care³ among safety net organizations
• Tailor care to the cultural and linguistic differences of patients, including patients with low health literacy and patients with disabilities
• Increase physician use of evidence-based protocols and quality improvement measures

2. Measurably increase appropriate consumer use of health care resources by vulnerable populations and improve individual health behaviors within this population

• Reduce number of visits to emergency departments for non-urgent care and reduce avoidable hospitalizations
• Increase patient use of preventive health care guidelines
• Increase patient use of programs to treat and control chronic conditions

We are especially interested in programs that link the supply and the use of health care resources to create health gains for vulnerable populations in North Carolina.

¹ Vulnerable Populations are defined as low-income uninsured, minority, and/or chronically ill individuals. The Foundation's focus is on adult individuals often referred to as the working poor.

² Health Care Safety Net Organizations are defined as organizations that have a central goal of providing care to patients regardless of their ability to pay. Examples include, but are not limited to, community and migrant health centers, rural health centers, local health departments, free clinics, hospitals, Community Care programs, health outreach workers, and school-based or school-linked health centers.

³ Coordination and Continuity of Care is defined as efforts to reduce duplication of services. Examples include, but are not limited to, the creation or participation in community collaborations focusing on shared services, systems of shared medical records, or organized delivery systems for the underserved.