Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center, which serves members in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley areas, is  accepting 2015 community grant inquiry applications now through Thursday, March 5, at 2 p.m.

Kaiser Permanente’s social mission is to improve the health of our members, and the communities we serve. The Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit program addresses the needs and priorities of the communities that are identified through a local needs assessments process.

Addressing these needs is accomplished, in part, by supporting partnerships with nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies and other community-based organizations whose work aligns with the key funding priorities of the community benefit grants program.

Grants will be awarded to organizations that address critical needs in at least one of the following three areas of focus:

* Access to Health Care and Health Insurance, with a focus on providing primary health care services, including prenatal care, specialty care, dental, and mental health for uninsured and underinsured individuals.

* Chronic Disease Prevention, Education, and Management, focusing on improving early detection and treatment, with an emphasis on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol.

* Obesity and Overweight Prevention and Reduction, focusing on initiatives and partnerships that promote healthy eating and active living to combat increased obesity rates through medical, environmental, and social changes.

Organizations that are interested in applying must:

* Be a nonprofit organization or a local, state, or federal government agency operating for a public purpose;

* Provide services within the Santa Clarita Valley, San Fernando Valley or Antelope Valley areas;

* Provide services to disadvantaged and/or underserved populations;

* Address critical public health needs in a culturally diverse community; and

* Have submitted evaluation reports for all historical grants.

In 2014, Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center awarded over $450,000 in grants to 40 local nonprofits in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley areas.

Kaiser Permanente recently launched a new streamlined grant inquiry and application process which can be found online; organizations may learn more about eligibility requirements, funding priorities, frequently asked questions and apply online at http://community.kp.org/panoramacity.

For more information about the process, please contact Amy Wiese at Amy.C.Wiese@kp.org by Wednesday, March 4, and to learn more about Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit visit: http://community.kp.org

Opened in 1952, Kaiser Permanente Panorama City serves more than 200,000 members in the East San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. For more information, go to: kp.org/panoramacity, and follow us on Twitter @KPPanoramaCity

About Kaiser Permanente Southern California

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 3.8 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information follow us on twitter; @KPSCALNews or go to: www.kp.org/share.