Copic Insurance Company is marking its 40th anniversary this year, highlighting the ongoing work of the Copic Medical Foundation. The foundation was established as part of the legacy of Harold “Hal” Williamson, the company’s first external, non-physician board member. According to Gerald Zarlengo, MD, Chairman & CEO of Copic Insurance Company, “The Foundation is part of the legacy of our first external, non-physician board member, Harold ‘Hal’ Williamson – reflecting his passion for giving back to the community in real and meaningful ways.”
Since 1991, the Copic Medical Foundation has provided over $12 million in funding aimed at improving patient care and medical outcomes across several states.
For its 2025 grant cycle, the foundation is focusing on reducing fragmentation in health care settings. This focus addresses concerns such as readmissions, missed diagnoses, medication errors, delayed treatment, duplicative testing and procedures, and reduced quality of care that can lead to dissatisfaction among patients and providers. Zarlengo stated: “As part of our larger commitment to patient safety, our 2025 focus for grant funding is reducing fragmentation across care settings. A top concern in the field of patient safety, breakdowns in care from a fragmented health care system can lead to readmissions, missed diagnoses, medication errors, delayed treatment, duplicative testing and procedures, and reduction in quality of care leading to general patient and provider dissatisfaction.”
He added: “We’re excited to fund approaches that take on these safety concerns. For the Foundation’s grant funding, contributing to a solution means supporting scalable or replicable solutions, focusing on the testing of new ideas or growing existing solutions, and then seeing avenues for larger application. This will be our last grant cycle focused on reducing fragmentation across care settings. The Foundation will evaluate and revise our focus area for the 2026 grant cycle, to be posted in fall 2025.”
Applications for grants are being accepted from November 1, 2024 through January 15, 2025. Programs eligible for funding include those that improve patient safety through systems changes or improvements; develop or implement tools to improve care delivery; or pilot programs aimed at reducing medical errors.
To qualify for consideration, proposals must show potential for uptake or replication by other health organizations and applicants must be designated as a 501(c)(3) organization or have an identified fiduciary.
Grant applications are due by January 15, 2024 at 5 p.m., with more information available at www.copicfoundation.org. Questions can be directed to mhintze@copic.com. Applicants will receive notification about potential support by March 31, 2025.
Past recipients in Colorado include Mile High Health Alliance’s Orange Flag Project (which used data analysis to inform emergency department personnel about high-utilization patients), Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation’s ImPACT Navigation Hub (a resource hub aiding young adults transitioning from pediatric to adult care), West Mountain Regional Health Alliance’s Community Resource Network West Mountain (a platform supporting coordinated services for individuals experiencing homelessness), and Metropolitan State University of Denver (an interprofessional education program for EMTs and nurses).
