CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE

February 2010

UniHealth Foundation occupies a unique niche in Southern California’s philanthropic landscape. We are the only private foundation with a primary grantee community comprised of public and nonprofit hospitals serving residents of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Over our twelve-year lifespan, we have engaged in a continuous process of literature review and face-to-face interviews of hospital senior management to ensure that our grantmaking priorities match those of the community we serve.

We appreciate that in today’s difficult economy, hospitals face enormous operational challenges that are compounded by anxiety over health care reform. Although the status of the legislation is uncertain, sweeping changes across the healthcare industry are anticipated. Experts predict that public policy will encourage the alignment of hospitals, physicians, and other care-delivery organizations into integrated systems responsible for managing a continuum of care as opposed to an episode of care. Payment structures will also change. The mandate to decelerate medical costs while delivering high-quality, safe, patient-centered care will grow, requiring better access to data and increased communication among both providers and patients. Greater board engagement and accountability will most certainly be required.

In this whirlwind of possible changes, we see opportunities for innovative grantmaking that will help hospitals and their healthcare partners survive and thrive. We believe our guidelines are sufficiently broad to accommodate a variety of requests that reflect the priorities of individual organizations. Our guidelines are also able to accommodate requests that cut across organizations to address systemic issues and root causes. We welcome your inquiries and look forward to working with you.