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CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 INFORMATION HERE

Downey Medical Center

Community Health is central to our mission because healthy communities are where people thrive. Like our approach to medicine, our work in the community takes a prevention-focused, evidence-based approach. In pursuit of our mission we go beyond traditional corporate philanthropy and grant-making to leverage our internal resources with our physician expertise, clinical practices, health education expertise, and technical assistance. Our commitment to community includes a robust engagement process that lifts the voice of community members and highlights priority health needs in our 2022 Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA). Through this process, Southern California Kaiser Foundation Hospitals identified urgent social and economic factors that negatively impact community health.

Based on the CHNA findings, the 2022 Implementation Strategy (IS) Plans of Southern California Kaiser Foundation Hospitals apply a health equity lens to outline our commitment to invest, partner, and drive change to improve the health of individuals in communities we serve. While each Kaiser Foundation Hospital IS plan is unique to its service area, the high-level focus areas and strategic priorities we aim to address across Southern California in partnership with community organizations are listed below:

Housing: Safe and secure housing is essential for the health of individuals and families. Example measures include home ownership and homelessness, housing affordability, quality, and cost burden.

Mental and Behavioral Health: Mental & behavioral health affects all areas of life, including a person’s physical well-being, ability to work and perform well in school, and to participate fully in family and community activities. Example measures include access to mental health care, poor mental health and stress, and suicide and deaths of despair (Note: there is a separate need category for substance use).

Access to Care: Access to comprehensive, quality health care services is critical for ensuring quality of life. Example measures of access include health care coverage and uninsurance, access to oral health and specialty care, and birth outcomes. 

Income and Employment: Economic opportunity provides individuals with jobs, income, a sense of purpose, and opportunities to improve their economic circumstances over time. Example measures include poverty and unemployment rates, and income inequality.

Structural Racism: Structural racism refers to the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics-historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal-that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is reflected in health disparities and inequities by race.

Food Insecurity: Food insecurity occurs when people do not have enough resources to meet their basic needs, including having enough food to eat to lead an active, healthy life. Example measures include accessibility of retail food outlets, SNAP enrollment, and living in food-insecure households.

Across these areas, we work to inspire and support people to be healthier in all aspects of their lives, and build stronger, healthier communities. In addition to dedicating resources through Community Benefit, we also leverage substantial additional assets that improve community health, including our healthcare workforce volunteerism.

At Kaiser Permanente, we believe in using the full range of our organization’s assets to improve the health of the communities we serve. We regularly gather data and seek input from our community partners and members to inform our investments and to guide the development of strategies that can make long-term, sustainable change and improve health. We are pleased to share our 2023 Community Benefit Year-End report for the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Downey that summarizes our efforts and highlight specific strategies and resources we deployed to respond to the prioritized health needs in the community.

Note: While Kaiser Permanente is committed to addressing these needs, local medical centers will strategically and carefully invite community partners to apply for funding in order to address needs that align with the local Implementation Strategy Plans, which may have some variations of the strategic priorities listed above. Please scroll down to view the areas that are currently being funded in this medical center.

Downey Medical Center Grants Program

Grantmaking is currently closed
Note

The Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center 2024 Community Benefit Grants are awarded through a “By Invitation Only” grant process.

Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center provides grants to local nonprofit health and human service organizations cities, and schools that address the priority health needs for its community service area. The current funding priorities, funding timeline, and guidelines on how to apply are provided below.

If you would like to apply for Grant or Sponsorship Funding for a broader service area in Southern California or Nationally, visit this site for more information and to apply.

If you would like to apply for a local event sponsorship, such as: special fund raising events (luncheons, recognition dinners); conferences; symposia; public policy briefings; visit this site for more information and to apply. 

2023-2025 Community Health Priority Areas & Strategies

For each health need listed below Kaiser Permanente is committed to the following to advance equity:

  • Incorporating racial and health equity analysis throughout planning, implementation, and execution of all strategies
  • Prioritizing geographic communities and high need populations (across race and ethnic groups, seniors, youth, formerly incarcerated, veterans, LGBTQ, etc.)

Current Grant Funding Priorities

Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center is currently focused on supporting the following health needs and related strategic priorities. Reviewing this area will help to ensure that your proposed grant project is aligned with these priorities.

Access to Care

Increased access to care for low-income at-risk populations

  • Provide core support to safety net organizations, allowing these organizations to implement initiatives appropriate for the needs of their population (e.g., expansion of specialty care, providing more virtual care for nonsurgical specialties)

Food Insecurity

All people have consistent access to affordable healthy food

  • Support organizations that distribute food such as medical tailored meals, prepared food, produce, or other food and meals to school children, families, and those in underserved communities
  • Support organizations that procure, recover, and/or redistribute food to food insecure communities

Housing and Homelessness

All people have access to safe, affordable, and stable housing and homelessness becomes a rare, brief occurrence

  • Enhance the infrastructure and capacity of service providers to serve individuals at risk or experiencing homelessness
  • Support and participate in collaboratives that support coordination and funding of resources (such as health services and housing) for individuals at risk or experiencing homelessness

Income and Employment

Reduced structural barriers and improved opportunities for inclusive economic mobility

  • Support programs that improve high school attendance, achievement, and/or graduation for students of color in low-income areas
  • Support workforce development partners to develop and implement job training and placement programs, including pre-apprenticeship programs

Mental and Behavioral Health

All community members have optimal levels of mental health and well-being through improved equitable access to evidence-based, high quality, appropriate care and reduced effects of stigma.

  • Support the infrastructure and capacity of community organizations, schools and clinics to improve access to quality mental health care

Structural Racism

  • Incorporating racial and health equity analysis throughout planning, implementation, and execution of all strategies
  • Prioritizing geographic communities and high need populations (across race and ethnic groups, seniors, youth, formerly incarcerated, veterans, LGBTQ, etc.)

Applicant Eligibility

To be eligible for a Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center Community Health grant, an applicant organization (or fiscal agent), must have operations in California and be one of the following types of nonprofit organizations:

  • 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization with a 509 (a) designation indicating that the organization is not a private foundation
  • A local, state or federal government agency, including any of its subdivisions that perform substantial government functions.

In addition, organizations must:

  • Provide direct services and/or programs for disadvantaged and/or underserved populations that address the funding priorities identified above.
  • Provide services and/or programs within the geographic boundaries of Kaiser Permanente Downey Service Area, which includes the communities of: Artesia, Bell, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Huntington Park, Lakewood, North Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, portions of South East Los Angeles including Watts, Willowbrook and Florence Firestone, South Gate, Vernon, Whittier

Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center Community Health does not consider funding requests from international, social, recreational clubs, or for the following:

  • Sports teams and tournaments (e.g., golf tournaments, tennis events, walks, and runs)
  • Individuals
  • Religious purposes
  • Partisan political activities
  • Endowments or memorials
  • Re-granting purposes to other organizations

Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center will not consider requests from organizations that discriminate based on gender, age, economic status, educational background, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, or marital status in your programs, services, policies and administration. In addition, Community Health grants will not be awarded for activities, events, or programs organized or solely sponsored by alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical companies, or companies that produce firearms.

We generally do not provide grants for academic research, capital campaigns, event sponsorships (including community health fairs), or political campaigns.

Grant Award Parameters and Considerations

One-year average grants awards are between $10,000 and $25,000. Core operating requests will be by invitation only at the sole discretion of Kaiser Permanente. All requests should align strongly with funding priority areas and should only include support for specific community health projects that will produce a measurable impact.

To view your submitted applications click here.

Grantmaking Contact

Sheri Bathurst
Community Benefit Manager
(562) 622.4087

By the Numbers

$408,000
Total Grants Awarded in 2023

Looking for CHNA Reports?

You can find all the CHNA Reports organized by Year and Medical Center in the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) Section of the Service Areas Page.