The Baxter International Foundation

The Baxter International Foundation's primary focus is increasing access to healthcare worldwide. In 2011, the Foundation donated more than $4 million (actual payments, excluding future commitments) in 23 countries. This included $1.1 million in grants to organizations outside of the United States and more than $700,000 to 774 organizations through the Foundation's Dollars for Doers and Matching Gifts programs that support employees' philanthropic contributions. The majority of the grants were based on recommendations from Baxter employees, targeted to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare for the disadvantaged and underserved in local communities. The Foundation also supports three prize programs that recognize organizations and individuals who demonstrate excellence in community service and healthcare research, and it has a long-standing commitment to the education of employees' children through Foundation scholarships.

Grants awarded in 2011 fulfilled local needs to increase access to dental care, mental health, and other healthcare services for children, the uninsured, veterans, and the elderly. Recipient organizations included the following:

• Austria - Nuenerhaus, in Vienna, to expand medical care for the area’s homeless through the hiring of a general practitioner and medical assistant and the provision of medical supplies.
• Costa Rica - Asociacion Aldeas SOS de Ninos de Costa Rica, in Santa Ana and Tres Rios, to fund two full-time psychology professionals to provide mental health services for orphaned children.
• India - Plan International India, in New Delhi, to empower the community and enhance the capability of more than 1,500 mothers to effectively manage and respond to children's health needs through home-based care and also to address the primary healthcare needs of approximately 5,000 childrenthrough the establishment of a primary health center and outreach health services.
• United States - Delta State University, in Cleveland, Mississippi, to fund a community counseling center focused on play therapy for children.

See a complete list of recent Baxter International Foundation grants with additional detail.

The Baxter International Foundation sponsors prizes that recognize excellence in community service and healthcare research. These are among the most prestigious in the healthcare field.

Foster G. McGaw Award: Each year, The Baxter International Foundation, in conjunction with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and Health Research & Educational Trust, presents the $100,000 Foster G. McGaw Award to a U.S. healthcare organization that provides innovative programs that improve community health and well-being. In 2011, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor, Vermont received this honor for its broad-based efforts to improve the lives of its most vulnerable community members. Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is a non-profit community hospital with a renowned inpatient rehabilitation unit, therapeutic pool and physical therapy department as well as acute care, transitional care, hospice and skilled nursing care services. The hospital was recognized for several major initiatives focused on building a community health infrastructure, preventing substance abuse, providing access to care through a free clinic, connecting residents to social services and providing senior housing. (See Case Study).

William B. Graham Prize: Working with the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, The Baxter International Foundation awards the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research to recognize major contributions to public health through innovative research. Edward H. Wagner, MD, MPH, a professor of health services at the University of Washington School of Public Health, received the $50,000 award in 2011 for his work in chronic illness management, cancer care and the aging and geriatric populations. Wagner founded the Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) in 1983, a non-proprietary, public-domain research institution within the Group Health healthcare system. As director until 1998, Wagner's commitment to scientific inquiry led the GHRI's mission to improve healthcare through leading-edge research, innovation and dissemination. In 1992, he established GHRI's MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation, which he still directs. His team developed the Chronic Care Model, an evidence-based framework that seeks to improve the delivery of safe, effective and collaborative care to patients.

Episteme Award: In conjunction with the Honor Society of Nursing – Sigma Theta Tau International – the Baxter International Foundation awards the Episteme Award to a nurse who has contributed significantly to nursing knowledge development, application or discovery that results in a recognizable and impactful public benefit. Kathleen R. Stevens, EdD, MS, RN, ANEF, FAAN, a professor of nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), received the $15,000 award in 2011 for her multi-faceted approach to evidence-based quality improvement. As founding director of the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice, a UTHSCSA School of Nursing Center of Excellence, Stevens has advanced interdisciplinary evidence-based quality improvement and patient safety through workforce education and engagement with the goal of turning research into action and improving healthcare and patient outcomes in the community. She also developed the Improvement Science Research Network, a virtual research network that enables its members to conduct collaborative research, exchange information and network. This online network accelerates the testing and translation of clinical and health services research into practice.