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VISTA announces recipients of community grant awards
HOLLYWOOD, FL – November 21, 2006 – VISTA announced today that it has awarded
$30,000 in community grants to four Florida nonprofit organizations. South
Florida recipients for the third quarter cycle of the VISTA Community Grant
(VCG) program are Clinica Luz Del Mundo, Hispanic Unity of Florida and Little
Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers of Dade County. VISTA also awarded a
grant to the Brehon Institute for Family Services in Tallahassee. The
charitable organizations were among 39 applying for a VISTA Community Grant.
“The nonprofit community provides essential services to families and
individuals who oftentimes have nowhere else to turn,” said Dr. Michael Hogan,
VISTA’s chief operating officer. “VISTA is proud to help these organizations
carry out their missions and make a positive difference in our communities.”
The VISTA Community Grants Program supports charitable organizations whose
work, through measurable outcomes, contributes to improving the health of the
community in service areas where VISTA employees live and work. Since the
program was launched in 2005, VISTA has awarded a total of $116,600 to
nonprofit organizations in North and South Florida.
“We are appreciative of this generous grant from VISTA which will help us reach
many needy men, women and children in Broward County with free quality
healthcare and preventive services by our volunteer medical staff,” said Erwin
M. Vasquez, M.D., CEO and founder of Clinica Luz Del Mundo.
Founded in 1989, Clinica Luz Del Mundo (Light of the World Clinic) provides
health care and preventive medical services to the financially disadvantaged
and medically underserved minorities of Broward County. The Clinic operates
five days a week through a staff of volunteer doctors, specialists and other
medical professionals, providing services such as cardiology, general medicine,
internal medicine, nutrition, diabetes education and social service outreach.
The VISTA Community Grants will be used to fund the following initiatives:
Brehon Institute – support two of the organization’s programs,
the Brehon House and Healthy Families Leon. The Brehon House serves homeless,
pregnant women and their children and Healthy Families Leon is an in-home
parent support and health education program. (Gadsden, Leon and Madison
counties)
Clinica Luz Del Mundo – expand the medical treatment and
health education services provided through the organization’s Indigent Minority
Health Education and Community Outreach Program. (Broward County)
Hispanic Unity of Florida – help fund the position of an
intake specialist, who triages the needs of the immigrant and his/her family by
providing medical and social service referrals, health education, and
acculturation tools. (Broward County)
Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers of Dade County –
diabetes screening and self management program targeting the Hispanic elderly.
(Miami-Dade County)
A final round of grants will be awarded this year. For more information on
grant guidelines and criteria visit www.vistahealthplan.com,
click on "Our Company" and select “Community Relations” from the drop down
menu.
About VISTA
VISTA, through its affiliated companies, Vista Healthplan,
Inc., Vista Healthplan of South Florida, Inc. and Vista Insurance Plan, Inc.,
offers a choice of health benefit plans including health maintenance
organization (HMO), preferred provider organization (PPO) and point-of-service
(POS). Headquartered in Hollywood, Florida, the VISTA companies provide health
benefits coverage to nearly 300,000 members and 10,000 employers in Florida
through employer group and individual plans, Medicare, Medicaid and Florida’s
Healthy Kids program. More than 5,000 independent physicians and the area’s
leading hospitals participate in VISTA’s provider network. Vista Healthplan,
Inc. and Vista Healthplan of South Florida, Inc. are accredited by the
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). More information
about VISTA is available at www.vistahealthplan.com.
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