For Immediate Release: May 11, 2022
For more information contact:
Kelly Cannon
Kelly.Cannon@BlueKC.com
O: (816) 395-3711
KANSAS CITY, MO. (May 11, 2022)—Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC), in partnership with BioNexus KC, is pleased to issue a Request of Proposal (RFP) for the Transforming KC: Health Outcomes Research Grant, to be submitted for funding consideration.
The Transforming KC: Health Outcomes Research Grant will support innovative insights and intervention research to address inequities in care and outcome improvements in maternal, birthing parent and child health, specifically for people of color, who bear an unfairly disproportionate burden of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and maternal mortality ratio (MMR).
Research organizations or community-based organizations focused on maternal, birthing parent and child health are invited to submit a research proposal aimed at improving disparities in underinvested communities. A single award will be determined from individual proposals, with the winning bid receiving up to $50,000 for one year. The award is intended to leverage investigator and facility strengths, leading to highly competitive proposals directed toward future external funding and scalable innovation.
Blue KC recognizes that health is created outside of the doctor’s office. As such, the Transforming KC: Health Outcomes Research Grant is part of its continuing regional commitment to health equity.
“We are pleased to partner with BioNexus KC on this important and needed research grant. The data clearly shows that people of color are disproportionately affected by health inequities, leading to chronic conditions and shorter lifespans,” said Erin Stucky, President and CEO, Blue KC. “The goal of the Health Outcomes Research Grant is to encourage innovative, collaborative research that can be practically applied to directly impact our community. Blue KC is committed to improving our members’ health and wellness, and we will continue to bring forward initiatives that lead to more equitable opportunities and positive outcomes.”
(MMR) and SMM have increased approximately 200 percent over the past 20 years. In Kansas, Black and other ethnic minority mothers and birthing parents account for 13 percent of births but 60 percent of all birth-related deaths. In Kansas and Missouri, Black mothers and birthing parents are two times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than non-Hispanic White mothers and birthing parents. Social and political determinants of health are significant drivers of these health outcomes and the Transforming KC: Health Outcomes Research Grant is an important tool to spur new insights and intervention research.
As Blue KC and BioNexus KC are committed to promoting community collaboration and partnerships, proposals that leverage multiple providers or impact large patient populations are preferred for this funding program. While not a requirement, collaboration will be an important consideration during the proposal review process. Only organizations designated as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) not-for-profit are eligible for the grant.
Applicant organizations wishing to respond to the RFP must submit an original one-page letter of intent (LOI) to the office of Daniel Kennedy, Vice President, BioNexus KC, by May 26, 2022, before 5 p.m.
To view the Transforming KC: Health Outcomes Research Grant RFP, click HERE.
For more information on the BioNexus KC Research Development Grants Program, visit https://bionexuskc.org/grant-programs/.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.
