Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Approves $1.8+M to Support Healthy Aging in Central Ohio

(July 21, 2016) The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation will provide $1,877,145 in funding to support projects that advance the Foundation’s Healthy Aging Initiative.

The Foundation awarded direct service grants to seven agencies in the Columbus, Ohio, area that provide older adults with coordinated services and support to help them stay healthy, active and independent. Through these funding awards, an estimated 9,000 of Franklin County’s most vulnerable older adults will be served.

Mark Ricketts, president and CEO of National Church Residences, acknowledged the Foundation and the impact of this funding through the Healthy Aging Initiative. “Our Home for Life program, supported by the Foundation, is a progressive plan for helping seniors remain healthy and happy wherever they call home. By engaging seniors where they live, we can identify and overcome social determinant factors that impact an individual’s ability to best manage chronic diseases. Initiatives like Home for Life are possible due to visionary grants such as the Foundation’s,” Ricketts said.

The following organizations will receive funding through the Healthy Aging Initiative:

• Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio—$120,024 to expand access to no-cost prescription medication and medical management programs for older adults in Franklin County living at or below 200 percent of the poverty level.
• Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center—$479,500 for “Community Aging in Place,” a program that offers case management services within the organization’s service area and coordinated, county-wide group transportation assistance designed to help residents gain access to needed health and social services.
• Gladden Community House—$122,655 to expand case management, transportation and emergency support services to seniors in Franklinton.
• LifeCare Alliance—$400,000 to expand the number of Community Wellness Centers serving older adults in Franklin County.
• National Church Residences—$254,209 for “Home for Life” community service coordination for low-income seniors on the Near East side of Columbus.
• St. Stephens Community House—$295,123 to expand essential services—including case management and transportation—to older adults in the Linden area.
• YMCA of Central Ohio—$205,634 to expand “Healthy for Life,” including the Diabetes Prevention and Enhance Fitness Programs to multiple YMCA locations and partner organizations across Franklin County.

The Foundation's Healthy Aging Initiative also provided lead support to Age Friendly Columbus, an initiative launched by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission in partnership with the City of Columbus, Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, Franklin County Office on Aging, The Columbus Foundation, National Church Residences, and AARP Ohio.

The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation of Nelsonville (the Foundations) support community health and quality of life programs in central and southeastern Ohio as well as advance, on a local and national level, osteopathic medical care, medical research and osteopathic medical education.