LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Sky-high insurance premiums, delayed appointments, and cuts to essential services are all healthcare-related challenges Southern Nevada families have been living with for years.
Families struggling with healthcare costs and access may soon find relief through a new grant program targeting the community's most pressing health challenges.
Abel Garcia explains how the funding will target areas of critical need for local families faced with tough healthcare choices:
UNLV's School of Public Health has partnered with CareSource to launch the Community Health Innovation Grant Challenge, offering up to $25,000 each to six local organizations working to improve healthcare access and outcomes.
The initiative comes as families across the valley face difficult choices between essential healthcare and basic needs like food and housing.
"The services, at first, they were only $30 for her. Now the tag on that is $500 a month," said Laverne Franklin, a local resident. "Who can afford $500 a month for healthcare?"
Franklin described the impossible decisions many parents face daily.
"And what if you have multiple children? Now you have to decide — am I going to take my child to get the healthcare they need, or am I going to try and put some food on the table?" Franklin said.
The grant program will focus on three critical areas identified through extensive community surveys: maternal and child health, immunization resources, and addressing social drivers of health. Shawn Gerstenberger, dean of the UNLV School of Public Health, says extensive community surveys revealed these three areas where locals need the most help.
"We aligned these challenge grants so our community partners could help move the needle on those metrics where we need to improve — which ultimately improves the health and welfare of our community," Gerstenberger said.
For families like Franklin's, the program represents hope for fewer difficult choices and a healthier community.
"It makes me very hopeful," Franklin said. "Students here in Nevada will be inclined to say, hey, I'm going to stay in Nevada, go to UNLV, and make a difference in healthcare in my community."
Organizations interested in applying for the CareSource Community Health Innovation Grant Challenge can submit applications online through UNLV's portal before February 26.
If you have a healthcare-related story or issue that you feel needs attention, share it with Channel 13 anchor Abel Garcia.
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