Wellmark Foundation Grant to Support Health Literacy Education Project in Sioux Falls School District

April 16, 2007

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Contact:
Angela Feig
515.245.4551
feigab@wellmark.com

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A $65,000 grant from The Wellmark Foundation will allow the Sioux Falls School District in Sioux Falls, S.D., to implement a health literacy education project focused on improving the health literacy skills of 450 elementary students and their families.

The Bright Futures Health Literacy Project will pilot the Bright Futures Guidelines and Curriculum at Hawthorne Elementary School in Sioux Falls, S.D., says Pamela Homan, Ed.D., superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District. The curriculum, which was developed by the Federal Maternal Child Health Bureau Project partners, focuses on health issues including nutrition, oral health, mental health, immunizations and safety.

“Our overall project goals are to increase access to primary health care services in the community and improve health communication between providers, parents and children,” says Jacqueline Kelley, DNP, MPH, supervisor of health services at the Sioux Falls School District. “We hope to increase family knowledge, skills and participation in health promotion and prevention activities; to promote desired developmental and health outcomes for children; and to foster partnerships among families and community health professionals,” reports Kelley.

Project partners include the Falls Community Health Center, Southeastern Behavioral Health Care, University of South Dakota School of Nursing, South Dakota State University College of Nursing and the Mayor’s Task Force on Unmet Health Care Needs. For more information on the Bright Futures Health Literacy Project, contact Kelley at (605) 367-7933.

The Wellmark Foundation has provided nearly $12 million to fund 350 health-related grants in Iowa and South Dakota since 1997, including $574,147 this cycle. “The Wellmark Foundation collaborates with non-profit and governmental organizations in Iowa and South Dakota to build healthier communities,” says Matthew McGarvey, director of The Wellmark Foundation. “We are pleased to fund Bright Futures, which is a much needed project that will help to increase health literacy among Sioux Falls students and their families,” says McGarvey.

The Wellmark Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation created by Wellmark, Inc., doing business as Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. Visit The Wellmark Foundation's Web site at www.wellmark.com/foundation for a list of grant recipients and grant application instructions. Applications for the next round of community responsive grants are due June 19, 2007. Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and The Wellmark Foundation are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.