Initiative 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.”
Some organizations like the Newcomer Academy at Jefferson County Public Schools have already initiated programming, conducting vaccine outreach and a clinic for English as a Second Language (ESL) families.
The grant recipients are:
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
KCEOC Community Action Partnership
In September, KAHP completed a Disney trip sweepstakes for 20 grand prize winners who received their shots during the month of September.
In August, in partnership with Volunteers of America Mid-states, KAHP launched “Take 1 for the Team,” a hyper-local, targeted vaccine outreach and incentive campaign in Clay County, which combines heavy digital advertising featuring local influencers like pastors, coaches, doctors, and others, as well as offers for free food, free drawings for cash prizes, a free professional wrestling match, and a competition between local schools for $6,000 in sports equipment. The program has steadily raised vaccination rates, and building on this success, the two organizations launched a parallel effort in the West End of Louisville called “Healthy West Lou.”
KAHP provided an unlimited ride wristband and $20 gift card to all individuals who received the vaccine at the Kentucky State Fair.
In June, KAHP visited Mercer, Montgomery, Estill, Nicholas, and Rockcastle Counties for a “Hottest Concerts” ticket giveaway at county health departments. KAHP visited the Lee, Owsley, Breathitt, Magoffin, and Leslie County Health Departments and gave away $100 Visa gift cards to those who received the shot. KAHP also held their “Shots Across the Bluegrass” Live Broadcast & Pop-up Vaccination Clinic Tour with Kentucky Sports Radio, with stops in Barren, Green, McCracken, Clay, and Laurel Counties.
The state’s vaccine dashboard shows 2,739,591 Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a vaccine. That is 62% of the population.
Kentucky’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and commercial insurers are reaching their members through digital and radio ads, robust cash incentives, transportation coordination, pop-up clinics, clinics staffed by bilingual personnel, homebound vaccination visits, text and email campaigns, yard signs, billboards, outbound calls to members prioritized by risk tier, personalized assistance from advocates with sign-ups and digital site navigation, direct mail, and follow-up on second dose appointments based on claims data.
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.
