Home » KAHP issues 27 grants to Ky. groups working to improve vaccine rates

KAHP issues 27 grants to Ky. groups working to improve vaccine rates

December 28, 2021
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Association of Health Plans (KAHP), the trade association representing all carriers offering health coverage in Kentucky, recently announced 27 grant award winners for its “Healthy Together Through Vaccinations” community grant program. The initiative aims to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and access by empowering organizations across Kentucky with grants of up to $25,000 to pursue efforts toward improving vaccination rates through outreach, communication, education, training, transportation, and/or support.

“For many months now, we have been partnering with various groups across the Commonwealth and have had a lot of success in our vaccination efforts,” said Tom Stephens, executive director of KAHP. “We applied some of what we learned in that programming to launch a broader grant initiative that we think is quite impactful because we are really leveraging local organizations who know their communities best.”

Some organizations like the Newcomer Academy at Jefferson County Public Schools have already initiated programming, conducting vaccine outreach and a clinic for English as a Second Language (ESL) families.

The grant recipients are:

  • Lawrence County Health Department
  • St. Joseph Children’s Home
  • Boulware Mission Inc.
  • Americana Community Center
  • Family Scholar House
  • Lewis County Health Department
  • Clinton County News
  • Lexington Community Radio
  • Presbyterian Child Welfare Agency, Inc.
  • Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government Department of Public Health and Wellness
  • Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center
  • Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital
  • Kentucky Press Association and UK Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
  • St. Joseph Children’s Home
  • Hopkinsville Christian County NAACP
  • Appalachian Early Childhood Network
  • Jefferson County Public Schools
  • Mark 12 Ministries
  • Kentucky Pharmacists Association
  • Kentucky YMCA Youth Association
  • Maysville Community and Technical College
  • Casey County Public Library
  • University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc.
  • Presentation Academy Inc.
  • The People’s Clinic
  • Operation Warm
  • KCEOC Community Action Partnership

In September, KAHP completed a Disney trip sweepstakes for 20 grand prize winners who received their shots during the month of September.

In August, in partnership with Volunteers of America Mid-states, KAHP launched “Take 1 for the Team,” a hyper-local, targeted vaccine outreach and incentive campaign in Clay County, which combines heavy digital advertising featuring local influencers like pastors, coaches, doctors, and others, as well as offers for free food, free drawings for cash prizes, a free professional wrestling match, and a competition between local schools for $6,000 in sports equipment. The program has steadily raised vaccination rates, and building on this success, the two organizations launched a parallel effort in the West End of Louisville called “Healthy West Lou.”

KAHP provided an unlimited ride wristband and $20 gift card to all individuals who received the vaccine at the Kentucky State Fair.

In June, KAHP visited Mercer, Montgomery, Estill, Nicholas, and Rockcastle Counties for a “Hottest Concerts” ticket giveaway at county health departments. KAHP visited the Lee, Owsley, Breathitt, Magoffin and Leslie County health departments and gave away $100 Visa gift cards to those who received the shot. KAHP also held their “Shots Across the Bluegrass” Live Broadcast and Pop-up Vaccination Clinic Tour with Kentucky Sports Radio, with stops in Barren, Green, McCracken, Clay and Laurel Counties.

The state’s vaccine dashboard shows 2,739,591 Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a vaccine. That is 62% of the population.

Kentucky’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and commercial insurers are reaching their members through digital and radio ads, robust cash incentives, transportation coordination, pop-up clinics, clinics staffed by bilingual personnel, homebound vaccination visits, text and email campaigns, yard signs, billboards, outbound calls to members prioritized by risk tier, personalized assistance from advocates with sign-ups and digital site navigation, direct mail, and follow-up on second dose appointments based on claims data.

Members of the Kentucky Association of Health Plans include Aetna, Anthem, CareSource, Humana, Passport Health Plan by Molina Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group and WellCare.

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