Improving Care for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common chronic condition that adversely affects many adults within the working age population, and can be caused or exacerbated by exposure to harmful workplace lung irritants and other environmental factors. These issues may contribute to high insurance costs, lower productivity and increased absenteeism, however, awareness about the risks of COPD is low among patients and employers. 

The National Business Coalition on Health’s (NBCH) Improving Care for COPD Patients grant program, funded by the COPD Foundation, allowed NBCH employer coalition members to educate employers about the clinical and cost impact of COPD and to design interventions to identify and address COPD within their populations. 

This final report summarizing the grantee coalition projects is now available, offering recommendations to help make COPD care improvement a broadly achievable goal for other employer coalition markets.

Cardiovasular Health-Related Funding Opportunity Available

The AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation will be accepting applications in February as part of their Connections for Cardiovascular Health^SM program. The annual funding opportunity will support nonprofit organizations' cardiovascular health improvement efforts in their local areas. Applicants must aim to address an unmet need related to cardiovascular health, address the urgency for tackling cardiovascular health, and improve the quality of life for patients and non-professional caregivers. Coalitions working with their members and other partners on cardiovascular-health related issues may wish to consider applying for this funding.

DEADLINE: Online applications will be accepted February 3 - 27. A preview of the application is available throughout January on the grant program website.

NBCH in Partnership with the COPD Foundation Awards Grants to Focus on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Management

To combat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic condition impacting more than 24 million Americans, NBCH is making available $120,000 in grant funds. The program’s activities are funded through a collaboration with the COPD Foundation (COPDF). After a competitive review, four NBCH member coalitions were selected to participate in various programs with employers.

“Health care related to COPD – the term for progressive lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis – costs about $50 billion each year,” said Karen Linscott, chief operating officer for NBCH. “Education efforts are important as this condition must be properly diagnosed and managed. There’s significant impact to an employer’s bottom line, especially when left untreated as COPD patients may be less productive, have greater absentee rates and medical costs.”

Two coalitions were awarded funds of $55,000 each – the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health and the Montana Association of Health Care Purchasers. Both groups will engage major community stakeholders in a collaborative effort to assess the impact of COPD on employees through claims analysis and other data, provide COPD risk-assessment and identify and develop strategic plans to implement Employer Toolkit interventions. Two additional coalitions have been selected to serve in an advisory role – the Employer’s Health Coalition in Arkansas and the Virginia Business Coalition on Health.

“We are pleased to work closely with NBCH and its member coalitions on this important program,” said John W. Walsh, president and co-founder for COPDF. “Seventy percent of people with COPD are in the workforce and it’s imperative that employers be equipped with the tools and strategies to promote early risk identification and health management of COPD.”

The grants will support coalition efforts to improve COPD care by engaging employers in claims analysis, employee screening and education efforts, and benefit design. Coalition strategies will focus on interventions included in the COPD Foundation’s Employer Toolkit. The stipends will support coalitions serving in an advisory group focused on engagement of employers in improving COPD-related care for their covered populations.

Child Health and Well-Being Funding Opportunity Available

The Rite Aid Foundation has funding available for nonprofit organizations to apply for grants to support childhood health and well-being. The following conditions must be met for organizations to apply: the applicant must be a 501(c)(3) organization, the project's service area must be in a community where there is a Rite Aid business presence, the primary program focus must be child health and well-being, and the program must have been in existence for at least one year and in good financial standing. The Foundation accepts submissions four times a year. Coalitions working with their members and other partners on child health-related issues may wish to consider applying for this grant. Full details about this grant opportunity are available on the Rite Aid Foundation website.

National Business Coalition on Health Selects Two Communities to Support Strategic Health Care Purchasing

WASHINGTON – April 25, 2013 – To further efforts to accelerate strategic health care purchasing, the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) announced two communities were selected to participate in a pilot to test a strategy and framework for engaging employers in implementation of value-based purchasing. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation(RWJF), the $100,000 in grants provided two NBCH member coalitions support to guide and assist employers in this effort in partnership with the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) Alliances. The two joint NBCH member-AF4Q Alliance communities selected through a competitive application process were Puget Sound, Wash., including the Puget Sound Health Alliance and Cleveland, including the Health Action Council Ohio and Better Health GreaterCleveland.

Read the full press release here.

NIH Funding Opportunity for Obesity Policy Evaluation

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a new funding opportunity announcement for applications that propose to evaluate large scale policy or programs that are expected to influence obesity related behaviors (e.g., dietary intake, physical activity, or sedentary behavior) and/or weight outcomes in an effort to prevent or reduce obesity.

The announcement encourages innovative scientific partnerships between researchers and public or private partners (e.g., community based organizations, local governments, school districts, employers), and defines policy broadly to include both formal public policies at local, state and federal levels of government, and organizational level policies, such as those implemented by large organizations, worksites or school districts. Examples of appropriate studies include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Introduction of food or beverage taxes/subsidies/price changes/other incentives;
• Infrastructure initiatives such as retailers offering healthier food options in underserved areas;
• Changes to workplace food and/or physical activity environment;
• Polices expected to influence available options and purchasing, such as calorie labeling in restaurants, menu or food product reformulation, and supermarket layout or pricing strategies;
• Significant changes in policy or practice in large healthcare organizations that are expected to improve weight outcomes; such as changes in reimbursement, incentives, or wide scale implementation of prevention or treatment services;
• Modifications to the built environment to encourage active transportation or leisure physical activity, such as the implementation of bike lanes in urban areas, multi-use trails, subsidies for public transit, upgrades of sidewalks, or improved access to parks and recreation facilities.

The application cycle opens on May 5, 2013 and applications are due on June 5, 2013.

Two New Federal Government Funding Opportunities

The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) has announced a new grant opportunity: Estimating the Costs of Supporting Primary Care Practice Transformation under its small grants program This announcement solicits grant applications from organizations that propose to analyze and describe the costs associated with successful efforts to transform primary care practice. With this announcement, AHRQ is interested in adding knowledge about the direct and indirect costs associated with supporting primary care transformation. While proposed projects may utilize the methods of cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, or cost-utility analyses on the support and maintenance of primary care transformation, given the dearth of current valid information available, AHRQ also is interested in receiving proposals to document the direct and indirect financial costs shouldered by small and medium sized practices in becoming a patient centered medical home (PCMH) and the direct and indirect external costs involved in successful primary care practice facilitation programs. This opportunity may be of interest to coalitions willing to reach out to partners such as traditional researchers, provider groups, or members that are working on PCMH projects.

DEADLINES: Letters of intent are due January 28, 2013; applications are due February 28, 2013.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also announced a new funding opportunity: Building Capacity of the Public Health System to Improve Population Health Through National, Nonprofit Organizations. The purpose of this program is to ensure the provision of capacity-building assistance (CBA) to optimize the quality and performance of public health systems, the public health workforce, public health data and information systems, public health practice and services, public health partnerships, and public health resources. The applicant’s CBA program is expected to demonstrate measurable progress among governmental and nongovernmental components of the public health system towards two or more of the following outcomes: 1) increased adoption of new or proven business improvements leading to management and administrative efficiencies or cost savings; 2) increased availability and accessibility of continuing education and training focused on public health competencies and new skills, including the use of experience-based internships and fellowships; 3) increased incorporation of core public health competencies into employee position descriptions and performance evaluations; 4) increased integration of state-of-the-art technology into data collection and information systems; 5) increased implementation of evidence-based public health programs, policies, and services; 6) improved capacity to meet nationally established standards, such as those for health department accreditation; 7) establishment and maintenance of diverse public health partnerships for meaningful cooperation and achievement of evidence-based public health strategies and interventions, such as the CDC Winnable Battles; and 8) improved quality, availability, and accessibility of public health education materials, training, and evaluation tools and resources. While CDC is looking for applicants with a national scope, coalitions that are involved in community-based public health efforts may be interested in this opportunity.

DEADLINES: Letters of intent are due February 4, 2013; applications are due March 7, 2013. There is an informational conference call on January 29, 2013.

PCORI Announces Second Cycle of Funding Opportunties

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has announced a second funding cycle for four out of the five areas outlined in the National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda: communication and dissemination; improving health care systems; assessment of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options; and addressing disparities. PCORI will release an additional funding announcement this fall for the fifth focus area: accelerating patient-centered and methodological research.

PCORI will fund up to $96 million in awards. PCORI anticipates funding approximately 54 contracts totaling up to $48 million for projects related to assessment of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options; approximately 27 contracts totaling up to $24 million for projects related to improving health care systems; approximately 14 contracting totaling up to $12 million for projects related to communication and dissemination; and approximately 14 contracts totaling up to $12 million for projects related to addressing disparities. Direct projects costs may total up to $500,000 per year and project periods may be up to three years. Eligible applicants include IRS-recognized private sector research organizations (non-profit and for-profit) and public sector research organizations (universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, health care systems, and units of state and local governments). Foreign and non-domestic organization components may also be eligible and should consult PCORI’s application guidelines for more information.

Letters of intent are due October 15, 2012 and applications are due December 17, 2012. PCORI will hold informational webinars between October and November of 2012. More information about the funding opportunities is on the PCORI website.

HRSA Grant Opportunity: Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has posted a funding opportunity for a grant to support development of community programs focused on health care access for children, youths, and their families, as well as preventive strategies. The grant is also intended to promote collaboration and partnerships with other community stakeholders, including businesses.

HRSA anticipates availability of approximately $377,021 annually to fund eight grant awards of up to $47,127 per year for five years. Continued funding after year one is contingent on availability of appropriated funds, grantee performance, and a decision that it is in the best interest of the Federal government to continue funding. Grantees must also have matching funds in years two through five of the project period. Applicants may be any of the following: state governments; county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally-recognized tribal governments); nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with IRS, other than institutions of higher education; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and others. Applicants must have fiduciary and administrative responsibility for the project.

Applications are due September 21, 2012. More information is on the Grants.gov website.

HRSA Grant Opportunity: Maternal and Child Health

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has posted a funding opportunity for two R40 grant competitions. One of the grant opportunities will support research that may improve heath care for maternal and child health populations; the other will specifically support secondary data analysis studies that may improve health care for maternal and child health populations.

For the maternal and child health research program, HRSA will make approximately six grant awards per year for up to three years. Individual awards may be up to $300,000 per year. Subject to availability of appropriations, $1,800,000 will be available for these awards. For the secondary data analysis studies program, HRSA will make approximately 10 grant awards of up to $100,000 for one year . Subject to availability of appropriations, $1,000,000 is available for these awards. Applicants must be public or nonprofit institutions of higher learning, or public or private nonprofit agencies. Applicants must be engaged in research or programs focused on maternal and child health and/or services for children with special health care needs.

Applications for both grant competitions are due September 12, 2012. More information is on the Grants.gov website.

NIH Grant Opportunity: Obesity Policy and Program Evaluation

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has posted a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a R01 research grant that is intended to encourage and support research in which a unique and time sensitive opportunity has arisen to collect baseline data and then prospectively assess effectiveness of an imminent policy or program designed to prevent or reduce obesity in a given population (e.g. designed to reduce energy intake, increase activity, or decrease sedentary behavior).

Application budgets are not limited, but need to reflect actual needs of the proposed project. The number of awards is contingent on NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. The maximum project period is five years. Eligible organizations include higher education institutions, nonprofits other than institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations, governments, other domestic organization types, and foreign institutions.

There are several rounds of due dates between now and fall of 2015. For the first round of submissions, letters of intent are due September 12, 2012 and the application is due October 10, 2012. More information is on the Grants.gov website.

NIH Grant Opportunity: Estimating the Economic Costs of Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has posted a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a R01 research grant that encourages research on the economic costs of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, including direct and indirect costs to public and private health care payers, families and other informal caregivers, as well as labor market costs from reduced productivity or labor force participation.

Application budgets are not limited, but need to reflect actual needs of the proposed project. The number of awards is contingent on NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. The proposed project scope should determine the project period, but the maximum is five years. Eligible organizations include higher education institutions, nonprofits other than institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations, governments, other domestic organization types, and foreign institutions.

Letters of intent are due September 5, 2012, although they are not required and non-binding. Applications will be considered in one of the three standard review and award cycles. Application due dates for each cycle are February 5, June 5, and October 5. More information is on the Grants.gov website.

NBCH Selects Four Coalitions for Adult Immunization Seed Grants

To increase community focus on adult immunizations in the workplace and to ultimately improve the health and productivity of employees, NBCH has selected four member coalitions to receive $120,000 in funding for a new Adult Immunization Seed Grant Program.

The seed grants will provide coalitions with the resources to drive community-focused adult immunization programs within the workplace. The coalitions selected after a competitive application process and independent review with immunization experts: HealthCare 21 Business Coalition, MidAtlantic Business Group on Health, Nevada Health Care Coalition and the Virginia Business Coalition on Health.

The NBCH Adult Immunization Seed Grant Program is supported in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. Read the full news release here.

Roadmaps to Health Community Grants

The Roadmaps to Health Community Grants, which support two-year state and local efforts among policymakers, business, education, health care, public health and community organizations, are managed by Community Catalyst, a national consumer health advocacy organization.

These grantees are working to create positive policy or systems changes that address the social and economic factors that impact the health of people in their community. Read on to see the first round of awardees...