BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
In Hamilton County, thousands of cancer patients and their families have received valuable counseling and support from the agency Cancer Family Care.
But just across the Indiana border, in small towns such as Lawrenceburg, Brookville and Versailles, there is no such agency. And like many other rural areas, there aren't enough school nurses, substance abuse programs or primary care doctors, either.
In fact, many health services that Hamilton County residents take for granted simply do not exist along the fringes of Greater Cincinnati. But now, a powerful new charity seeks to reduce the disparity -- the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.
Last week, the foundation completed a five-stop series of public meetings to introduce itself to the community, including visits to Milford, Hamilton, Florence and Lawrenceburg.
"So far, we've not had many proposals from this part of the territory. I want to make it clear that good proposals from this area are going to get a lot of attention," foundation President Donald Hoffman told a group that gathered at the Lawrenceburg Public Library. The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati -- previously known as the ChoiceCare Foundation -- has rapidly emerged as a powerful, regional charity. Fueled by a $260 million endowment generated last year by the sale of the ChoiceCare HMO to Humana Inc., the foundation plans to give away about $13 million a year.
The foundation has stirred a flurry of interest. It's big -- the sixth largest of its kind nationwide. And it plans to focus on four often-overlooked health issues: substance abuse, mental illness, primary care for the poor and school-based health promotion.
But the foundation also has raised eyebrows with its unusually wide service area. Unlike most "communitywide" organizations, the Health Foundation territory spans 20 counties.
"It's nice to know there's somebody out there with some money that can help us," said Joe Stephens, executive director of the Community Mental Health Center in Lawrenceburg.
The Health Foundation's territory includes Versailles to the west, Williamstown to the south, Wilmington to the northeast and West Union to the southeast.
Foundation officials say this territory -- considerably wider than Cincinnati's statistical metropolitan area -- more accurately reflects the Tristate medical market.
"There's nothing like us in this part of Indiana," said Jeanie Naumann, a counselor with Cancer Family Care who lives in Indiana but spends most of her time working with clients in Northern Kentucky.
The Health Foundation already has started working on the lack of health care "infrastructure" in outlying parts of Greater Cincinnati, said Patricia O'Connor, vice president of programs. Recent grants have funded school-based health clinics in Harrison, Ohio, and a Hamilton County mental health agency expansion into Warren County.
But so far, the foundation has struggled to find agencies that address the foundation's goals and do business in outlying areas, Ms. O'Connor said.
Last year, the Health Foundation gave away 23 grants totaling about $5 million. Of those programs, 10 provide services in Northern Kentucky and five reach into Indiana. Only two programs actually were based in Northern Kentucky and none in Indiana.
One reason: "We didn't know you existed," an audience member told Health Foundation officials in Lawrenceburg.
Now the word is getting out. Since early May, general inquiries to the Health Foundation have tripled, and callers with specific projects to discuss have increased 60 percent.
