As our communities continue to experience challenges related to COVID-19 and its variants, Cambia’s philanthropic investments to promote equitable vaccine access are critical to building the resilience needed for the long-term health and well-being of our communities. Every shot counts and every individual, every family, deserves the opportunity to get vaccinated.
Cambia has been collaborating with a diverse set of stakeholders – both regionally and nationally – to expand access, remove barriers and address hesitancy issues; supporting rapid deployment to the communities most in need; meeting people where they are, and delivering simple, age-sensitive and culturally relevant resources.
To date, through philanthropic commitments of more than $1.3 million, our Cambia Health Foundation and regional health plans estimate that 504,466 shots in arms have been made possible through our partnerships with 114 different community-based organizations through on-site clinics, pop-up clinics, mobile clinics and transportation to on-site clinics.
Cambia Health Foundation
- The Foundation co-funded Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) study on best practices for helping homebound people and their caregivers access the COVID-19 vaccine. Based on the research findings collected TFAH is informing smart policy through a new brief, Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccines for Older Adults and People with Disabilities Who are Homebound.
- To improve culturally-appropriate care and remove barriers for people experiencing poverty, the Foundation is supporting federally qualified health centers with $500,000 in partnership with the Oregon Primary Care Association, Washington Association for Community Health, Association for Utah Community Health and Idaho Primary Care Association as part of our COVID-19 Community Health Center Crisis Response and Recovery Initiative.
- We are also proud to collaborate with local community-based organizations and provider partners on innovative approaches, including:
- In Oregon, partnering with OHSU Foundation, North by Northeast Community Health Center and the Bridge-Pamoja to reach vulnerable BIPOC populations and with Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare to expand access and address hesitancy in populations experiencing mental illness and homelessness.
- In Washington, funding the University of Washington Medicine’s COVID-19 Community Partnership Vaccination Program and the Downtown Emergency Service Center to serve underserved populations.
- In Idaho, supporting Idaho Immunization Coalition, a statewide nonprofit fostering multi-sectorial, community-based engagement on immunization issues.
- In Utah, backing a pilot project with University of Utah Foundation, Comunidades Unidas, and other community-based organizations to provide vaccinations to underserved communities and funding the hire of two Community Health Advocates at People’s Health Clinic.
- To empower people with factual vaccine information, the Foundation hosted an informational webinar on collaboration strategies for non-profits across our regional footprint to address vaccine uncertainty. Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah’s Executive Medical Director Dr. Amy Khan and leaders from both the Virginia Garcia Medical Center and the Idaho Center for Primary Care highlighted the importance of culturally appropriate, age-sensitive materials to get vaccines to those who need it most.
Regional Health Plans
In addition to our Foundation initiatives, we are advancing equitable vaccine deployment through strategic partnerships with our regional health plans:
- In Oregon and Washington, we are supporting Medical Teams International pop-up clinics and mobile vaccinations
- In Utah, in partnership with United Way and Lyft, we are helping provide vaccine transportation efforts through the established 211 resource network
- In Idaho, we partnered with Idaho Immunization Coalition and Community Action Partnership in Lewiston to support vaccine distribution to older adults and homebound rural individuals
- In southern Oregon, provided funding to La Clinica to increase vaccine distribution among Latinx communities in surrounding rural areas
- In Washington, we supported Sound Generations ongoing vaccine efforts for older adults in King County
Our investments and volunteer support efforts are saving lives, but none of us can do this alone. Collaborative partnerships that advance equitable access to vaccine resources is key to our long-term recovery and resilience. Working together, we can build resilience in our communities and emerge stronger from the pandemic.
