KAHP’s initiative that aims to mobilize and empower organizations throughout the
Commonwealth to help address vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccinations.
Lexington, Ky. (Dec. 20, 2021) –Kentucky Association of Health Plans (KAHP), the
trade association representing all carriers offering health coverage in Kentucky, today
announced 27 grant award winners for the organization’s “Healthy Together Through
Vaccinations” community grant program. The initiative aims to increase COVID-19
vaccine acceptance and access by empowering organizations across KY 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. It’s great to see so many different
populations served. We certainly aren’t letting up because vaccines are the best
defense against hospitalization and death.”
“KCEOC CAP’s President/CEO Paul Dole stated, “When you work in community action,
you have to be prepared to serve on the front lines no matter what- we won’t ever stop
serving our community, and we certainly didn’t let the Covid-19 pandemic stop us
although we had to pivot and re-pivot our service delivery many times to ensure our
clients and staff remained safe. When Covid-19 hit last year, we were quick to action,
and have remained constant in our response, because we knew it was affecting our
clients disproportionately. The entire team at KCEOC is dedicated to eradicating
poverty in all of its forms, we stand by our Community Action Promise to help others
help themselves and each other, and we accomplish this by removing barriers. We are
grateful for this grant so that we can begin our “Healthy Together Initiative” to continue
removing barriers, our clients that want to receive the vaccine are facing, we will be
addressing lack of access and availability in remote areas, transportation barriers, and
sharing fact-based information.”
The full list of grant recipients are:
- KCEOC Community Action Partnership
- 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
About Kentucky Association of Health Plans
Kentucky Association of Health Plans is the trade organization representing the
Kentucky health insurance community. KAHP is a leader on issues that strengthen the
accessibility, value, and quality of health care in the Commonwealth. Members include
Aetna, Anthem, CareSource, Humana, Passport Health Plan by Molina Healthcare,
UnitedHealth Group and WellCare. For more information visit: www.kahp.org or
follow @kyhealthplans on Twitter.
About KCEOC Community Action Partnership
As one of the original 23 Community Action Agencies formed in 1964 after President
Lyndon Johnson declared a “War on Poverty,” KCEOC Community Action Partnership
has been helping others help themselves for over 57 years. This help has come in
many forms, from early childhood education, to housing and food assistance, to
weatherizing homes, to providing emergency services. The agency has served
thousands of area residents in need and is constantly developing new programming to
meet those needs, as well as serving as an advocate and voice for those who need a
hand up. KCEOC CAP is constantly adapting service delivery models to accommodate