Cuellar announces $10 million in federal funds to Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas
Posted: Fri 2:08 PM, Dec 19, 2014
By: Matt McGovern

Congressman Cuellar announced $10 million in federal funds to Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas at the First United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Dec.17.

LAREDO, TEXAS (Office of Henry Cuellar) - Congressman Henry Cuellar announced on Wednesday the awarding of $10 million in federal funds to Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas Inc. from theCorporation for National Community Service.

This is the very first Social Innovation Fund (SIF) grant for the state of Texas, and the second largest SIF grant ever awarded.

This federal investment of $10 million will be combined with another $16.2 million provided directly from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas and will be used by its “Sí Texas Project” which will aim to reduce the rates of disease in South Texas by focusing on developing a more effective approach to caring for people with both behavioral and chronic healthcare needs.

The program will connect organization working towards the same goal and increase the community impact by expanding and replicating community solutions that work.

"Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas worked with my office to secure Texas’ first Social Innovation Fund Grant from the Corporation for National Community Service," said Congressman Cuellar. “This federal investment, combined with funds provided by Methodist Healthcare Ministries, will greatly improve the health of the people of South Texas, especially border communities that are at the forefront of the nation’s health challenges. The Texas border region has some of the highest uninsured rates in the country and is disproportionately affected by chronic and communicable diseases. This project will greatly help to improve the health of our citizens.”

“There has traditionally been a minimal investment made in South Texas both by state and national foundations,” said Rebecca D. Brune, vice president of strategic planning and growth at Methodist Healthcare Ministries. “However, we know from our work with our funded partners that there are innovative models that can effectively address these chronic illnesses and behavioral health needs. This project will allow us to evaluate these models and showcase those that are effectively meeting those needs, and ultimately, help to sustain and scale those efforts by attracting additional investments in this region.”

"This is a two part investment ; the first part is the federal investment from the Social Innovation Fund for a total of $10 million over two years. The second part of the investment is directly from MHM, which amounts to $16.2 million through our own dollars and by leveraging funds through other public/private partnerships - this is an addition to funds we are dedicating to conducting an evaluation of the programs supported by the SIF funds. The evaluation is a critical component to the project and, when combined with the SIF and MHM grants, makes the total investment for this initiative nearly $30 million,” Brune added.