Health Care Foundation of Greater KC rebrands
By Kansas City Business Journal
The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City (HCF) has a new name: Health Forward Foundation.
The announcement came Wednesday morning at an HCF event joined by more than 100 community leaders, health partners and grantees celebrating the new brand identity at Lidia’s in Kansas City.
The name may be new, but foundation CEO Dr. Bridget McCandless said the rebranding has been in the works for two years and reinforces the organization’s focus on the promise of a healthier tomorrow for those most in need.
In 2003, Hospital Corporation of America bought Health Midwest, a nonprofit provider serving areas in Kansas and Missouri. Then-Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon established the HCF with 80 percent of the proceeds from the sale – about $400.5 million.
“The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City was an outgrowth of the name that was originally given to us when we were formed in 2003," McCandless said. "That was the name we started with. We changed our logo a few times, but we never really developed a brand platform, and now that we’ve got more than 10 years under our belts, we really wanted to be deliberate about that.”
The foundation registered as a nonprofit and began grant making in 2005, focusing funding in the areas of mental health, safety-net health care and healthy communities.
“The length of our name was always an impediment. It got mixed up and confused with other organizations," McCandless said. "Our biggest concern was, how do we make our name reflect our work better? We felt like that was the reason to reconsider [our name].”
Better reflecting the work
The answer lay in the four ethics the foundation is based on: advocacy, collaboration, compassion, and diversity and culture.
“The new name of Health Forward Foundation much better reflects our work," she said. "It allows us to build on the momentum that we have, not just as a foundation, but the incredible work happening in our community. I think it brings into sharp focus that vision we have for the future of being sure that health belongs to everyone.”
The idea that “health belongs to everyone” may seem like an unusually political stance in a polarized and partisan climate, but Health Forward Foundation doesn’t shy away from that. In fact, its website recognizes the nature of its mission, with “long-term success dependent on political, cultural and economic context.”
“Our focus goes well beyond health care, and we do work around transforming communities as well as investing in neighborhoods and communities through policies and advocacy,” McCandless said. "So, we’re bigger than just health care and bigger than just Kansas City."
Not only does Health Forward Foundation bridge the divide between community and health care, it also serves counties on both sides of the state line: Cass, Jackson and Lafayette in Missouri, and Allen, Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas.
'Opportunities for health'
Health Forward recognizes the effect policies at all levels of government have on the lives of the uninsured and underserved.
“It’s important that we continue to reinforce that not everyone has the same opportunities for health," McCandless said. "This foundation was established to be able to advance the needs of those most in need, and that requires different kinds of investments. That requires thinking broadly about who our partners are and about what long-lasting change looks like. The foundation is working on both improving the existing safety-net systems to ensure that we approach the mental health and well-being of the entire population, as well as helping develop the tools we need for healthy communities and neighborhoods.”
What do those tools look like? They come in the form of supporting neighborhood organizations in their work to create healthy communities, such as Complete Streets, roadways designed and operated for safe and convenient travel for all users, whether it be cyclists, pedestrians or schoolchildren. The foundation is also intent on eliminating food deserts and working across nutrition and physical activity opportunities in a variety of neighborhoods.
“Improving access to care is a critical piece of the work that we do and making systems work better for the people who need them,” McCandless said.
Don’t let the change fool you, McCandless cautioned. Health Forward Foundation is committed to advancing its mission.
“The things that are important stay the same," she said. "So our mission, our values, how we invest, our need for partnership, all of those things stay exactly the same.”