Health & Wellness

Healthy communities are strong communities. When King County residents are at their best health they are active community members free from physical and mental illness, chronic disease and injury. They are surrounded by opportunities to exercise, eat healthfully and live in neighborhoods and homes safe from dangerous conditions and exposure to environmental toxins. Whether it’s ample time to play outside with their kids or access to fresh foods, communities know what they need to be healthy. We support health and wellness initiatives that are driven by the communities they are serving.

Learn more (pdf) about the Health & Wellness element. 

CONTRIBUTE TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Equitable access to care

It is widely recognized that race, income and place greatly impact health outcomes. We work to address this issue through a strategy of ensuring access to quality health services for marginalized populations.

Strategy Approaches:

  1. Support promising models, programs and practices that improve the quality of healthcare delivery
  2. Promote interventions to improve doctor-patient communication to reduce disparities in the quality of care received
  3. Improve access, efficiency and quality within and across systems of care, especially those that emphasize prevention and early identification of health concerns

Increase availability of care

One of our strategies in the Health & Wellness element is to increase access to healthcare, including primary medical, dental care and specialty services with an emphasis on underserved populations.

Strategy Approaches

  1. Invest in “health home,” which offers a home base for healthcare where a primary doctor provides culturally appropriate, consistent care, and coordinates with other professionals to meet all of an individual’s health needs
  2. Invest in a strong and viable health and behavioral healthcare safety net system
  3.  Expand access to comprehensive and coordinated care for those who remain un- or under-insured

Prevention

It goes without saying that good health starts long before one needs care. For that reason, we also elevate a strategy of encouraging healthy living, prevention and management chronic diseases.

Strategy Approaches:

  1.  Improve pathways to prevention and care that increase availability of integrated and effective systems of healthcare and service delivery; increase care coordination; increase assisted patient navigation; and increase proper utilization of care by patients
  2. Support civic engagement in health promotion, disease prevention, health equity, policy and advocacy, and insurance enrollment/retention
  3. Healthy neighborhoods happen in places that promote good indoor air quality, healthy food choices, physical activity options and prevention-focused health clinics

You can increase your impact by donating to our Health & Wellness Fund and connecting with one of our philanthropic advisors to meet your giving goals.

Resources