About $92 million is headed to Tulsa-area organizations as part of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET).
The trust announced 14 legacy grants Tuesday totaling nearly $150 million.
Oklahoma voters approved the creation of TSET 25 years ago to help fund programs that prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease, the state’s leading causes of death. The money is meant to improve the quality of health care across the state, particularly in rural and underserved areas, trust board chair Ken Rowe said in a statement.
“Oklahoma ranks near the bottom in most health indicators and the TSET Legacy Grants are an opportunity to make transformational moves to improve health for generations to come,” Rowe said.
Tulsa-area initiatives and organizations receiving large grants include:
- $25 million for the OU Stephenson Cancer Center for Research.
- $30 million for Oklahoma State University Medical Center’s expansion of 100 additional physician residency positions in the OSU Academic Medical District and across eastern and northeastern Oklahoma.
- $17.3 million for North Tulsa Wellness Initiative, a community collaboration to address prevention, wellness and quality of life.
- $9.4 million for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s Feeding Futures Initiative.
- $5.6 million for the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative which will work to integrate behavioral health care into primary care.
- $4.4 million for the Community Health Connection’s Maternal and Child Health Center.
“TSET is truly unique in the nation and it’s only through the smart stewardship of our tobacco settlement dollars that TSET is able to make such a substantial investment in improving health,” executive director Julie Bisbee said in a statement.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
