Improving Health and Wellness

Mary Piepenbring, a Vice President at The Duke Endowment, discusses the impact and focus of the Endowment's work supporting health care in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Health care today is a growing, dynamic field that has evolved into a comprehensive system for the delivery of services. Advancements in medicine and medical education allow people with chronic diseases to live longer and enhance their quality of life. A variety of factors, including inadequate insurance coverage, remote rural locations, lack of transportation, insufficient coordination among providers, poor nutrition and limited preventative medicine, have a negative impact on obesity, chronic health problems and other health concerns.

By improving access to quality health care, The Duke Endowment seeks to enhance the lives of individuals and the vitality of communities in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Enhancing the Quality of Life

2009 Grantmaking

In our health care work, we seek to accomplish lasting change by working to expand prevention and early intervention programs, to improve the quality and safety of services and to increase access to care. Because the complexities of modern care require effective and purposeful collaboration among providers and organizations, we target activities where there is mutual interest to form partnerships and implement innovative strategies to generate lasting improvements.

• Community programs: Provide education, community outreach and coordination of services to encourage appropriate use of preventative approaches and primary care.
• Early intervention: Expand programs that have been proven to address developmental delays in children and manage targeted diseases in early stages.
• Equitable care: Reduce disparities for vulnerable populations, including low-income children and seniors, rural residents, people without health insurance or financial resources and those with mental illness and addictions.
• Prevention and wellness: Support prevention efforts and programs to eliminate chronic disease.
• Quality of care: Advance evidence-based, nationally recognized practices that improve the quality and safety of health care.
  
• Rural health: Provide adequate and convenient primary and emergency health care services in rural communities.
• Workforce development: Improve the recruitment, training and retention of physicians, nurses and other health care professionals.

Health Care Grants

The Duke Endowment, like many philanthropic organizations, has experienced a decline in assets due to the recent events in the financial markets. The downturn has impacted our ability to fund new grants. Until economic conditions become more favorable, consideration will be given to programs directed at providing essential health services and health care for the uninsured.

Candidates for Health Care Grants

• Not-for-profit hospitals
• Not-for-profit health organizations in a county without a not-for-profit hospital
• Academic health centers
• Regional centers of the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program

Health Care Staff

• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Vice President
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Associate Director
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Program Officer
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Program Officer
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Senior Administrative Assistant
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Senior Administrative Assistant
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Administrative Assistant

Health Care staff can be reached at (704) 376-0291.