Baxter International Foundation

Baxter International Health Recovery Fund

The Baxter International Foundation, established in 1981, is the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc. Like Baxter, the Foundation supports the development of more accessible and affordable health care by funding initiatives that improve its access, quality, and cost-effectiveness. Focusing on these priorities, the Foundation makes grants in and near communities throughout the world where significant numbers of Baxter employees live and work.

In 2002, the Foundation began to focus exclusively on increasing access to health care — particularly for the disadvantaged and underserved. The establishment of the Baxter International Foundation Health Recovery Fund fulfills these goals.

The Program

In 2006, the Baxter International Foundation Health Recovery Fund was established when the Baxter International Foundation made a $750,000 grant to the Foundation for the Mid South (FMS), a regional foundation serving Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. 

The Fund was initiated to support health-related relief and restoration efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The donor-advised fund provides incremental grants to support community-based health care clinics, nonprofits, and other community-based health services.

In July 2006, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation underscored the importance of the Fund by providing a matching grant of $500,000 to the Fund's grant pool. A total of $1,083,813 was awarded by FMS in 2006 to 18 Mid South organizations. An additional $98,687 was awarded to two additional organizations in June of 2007.

The total amount of grants from the Baxter International Health Recovery Fund currently stands at $1,182,500 in awards to 20 Mid South organizations. More information on the Fund including the grantees and guidelines is available on the FMS Web site at www.fndmidsouth.org/Baxter_Fund.htm.

The Impact

The region is continuing to recover, and there have been many examples of the Fund's impact in the communities of the grantees. Phase I of the Fund was to provide immediate financial resources to community-based health care clinics and other community-based health services in the hurricane-devastated areas, so they could reinitiate services.

These grants were available up to $30,000. The dollars were used for staff expansion for the influx of displaced persons in rural communities and cities, the provision of direct services with mobile health units and patient advocates, the purchase of lost equipment and construction of rural health facilities, and support for health professionals from around the country to fill the gap of lost nurses.

One effect of the hurricanes is that the need for mental health assessment and access to services has increased dramatically. The Fund has been instrumental in both Louisiana and Mississippi in providing services and advancing innovation in collaborative training (Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [TF-CBT]) to address childhood trauma and in-school access.

For example, the Louisiana State University Health Services Center in Metairie, La., is working collaboratively with the St. Bernard school system to deliver urgently needed services to the students and their families, including assessment of the entire school population's needs, group therapy, leadership programs, mental health awareness, long-term counseling, and referrals.

It is too early to adequately assess the total impact of the Baxter International Health Recovery Fund, but several grantees have leveraged significant additional private and governmental dollars based on the grants received from the Fund.

For example, grantees have partnered with pharmaceutical companies, national churches, Rotary Club International, and the Jackson Medical Mall. Voices of Calvary, a Baxter International Health Recovery Fund grantee, was able to serve 1,900 requests for medical assistance after the hurricanes by leveraging the dollars from its partners.

The Difference

Necole S. Irvin, program officer at FMS, said, "The Baxter International Foundation shared the view of the Foundation for the Mid South that funds should be flexible to effectively meet the various needs of community healthcare programs directly affected by the storms.

The Baxter International Health Recovery Fund became a very important resource for these healthcare providers in terms of help and support not widely available from other philanthropic organizations after the storms (i.e., operating support, capital to support innovative ideas and programs, and support for rebuilding, infrastructure, and mobile health unit costs, among others).

While the disasters were devastating to our region, if there is any possible good that can come out of them, it is that eventually our communities and their people's health and well being will be better than what they were before."

The Lessons Learned

The creation of a donor-advised fund allowed grant dollars to more effectively address the most urgent medical needs — operationally as well as medically. The experience in providing assistance post-Katrina/Rita has affirmed the need for this type of charitable giving. Covering the entire gamut
of post-disaster relief and recovery phases, the Fund has provided flexibility, leverage to obtain additional funds, and results — a positive first step for the Baxter International Health Recovery Fund.

Why Baxter Is Involved

Baxter International Inc. is a global healthcare company that, through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with treatment of complex medical conditions. Leveraging that expertise through the Baxter International Health Recovery Fund is just one more way Baxter makes a meaningful difference in patients' lives.

For more information, please visit: www.baxter.com/about_baxter/foundation

Additional Company Profiles in BCLC's Disaster Recovery Report

Baxter International Foundation's Partners:

Foundation for the Mid South

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation