Board and staff of the California HealthCare Foundation welcomed friends and supporters to their new offices in downtown Oakland to celebrate the independent philanthropy's tenth anniversary and formally launch three new program areas.
"When the California HealthCare Foundation was getting started," President and CEO Mark D. Smith, M.D., M.B.A., told attendees, "few people, including myself, would have predicted this organization could amass such a formidable body of work in just ten years."
From its inception, CHCF's strategy has been one of engagement, collaboration, and partnership with key players in California's health care arena -- state and local government, regulators, payers, providers, patients, and other foundations.
Smith cited development of One-e-App to help automate enrollment in public health programs; the introduction of the statewide hospital report card CalHospitalCompare.org; and the creation of the daily online news digests CaliforniaHealthline.org and iHealthBeat.org as examples of the success of that strategy. He praised those who worked with CHCF to create and implement innovations that have improved health care in the state.
"During the past year," said Board Chair Walter W. "Bill" Noce, Jr., "CHCF has undergone a rigorous and strategic review of its program areas. The resulting three new program areas will guide the Foundation's work for the next five years and allow us to build upon a decade of progress."
The new program areas are:
Guests at the open house toured CHCF's new offices at 1438 Webster Street in Oakland and received a copy of the ten-year report recapping the accomplishments of the Foundation's first decade. In addition, guests were able to view three videos that highlight key projects from each of the program areas, available online through the links above.