| Article |
December 13, 2005
San Francisco Chronicle
Several Bay Area counties are in line to receive part of $7.5 million in grants for children's health care
The California Endowment has awarded $7.5 million to local children's health initiatives in 18 counties statewide, with more than $2 million going to San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Napa and Sonoma counties.
The grant money will provide health care coverage to 8,000 children across the state, but officials say that is only a fraction of the more than 800,000 uninsured children in California.
Sonoma County's chair of the Healthy Kids initiative, Dr. Mary Maddox-Gonzalez, said "With the financial support from the California Endowment and our local community, we are on our way to seeing that every child in Sonoma County has insurance and access to health care.''
Sonoma County's Healthy Kids initiative aims to provide health care to 8,000 children. Leona M. Butler, CEO of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan, said the California Endowment was among the first foundations to provide money to cover uninsured children and has been a major partner in that effort from the beginning.
Mark Friedman, CEO of First 5 Alameda County, said "The first years of a child's life are crucial for future success in school and life,'' and that providing health coverage is an essential part of the equation.
Connie Battisti, president of the board of directors of Napa County's Children's Health Initiative, said the grant money will improve the lives of a whole generation of children and benefit the entire community, including schools, businesses, employers and health care providers.
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