Napa Valley Vintners Invests Deeply in Creating a Healthy Napa County Community

Announcement of first of seven categories of funding from Auction Napa Valley proceeds

10/31/2013 - St. Helena, CA--The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) announced today its initial $3 million community investment from Auction Napa Valley proceeds. This announcement is the first of seven that will outline the NVV's funding of its two long-term strategic priority areas of community health and children's education in Napa County.

These first grant recipients are committed to creating a healthy community and include Children's Health Initiative, Community Health Clinic Ole, Pediatric Dental Initiative (PDI) Surgery Center, Planned Parenthood, Queen of the Valley Medical Center and St. Helena Hospital.

Auction Napa Valley is the NVV's annual community fundraiser that for more than 30 years has utilized the worldwide reputation of Napa Valley wines and the scenic beauty of the wine region to raise funds to enhance the health and well-being of the Napa Valley community. To date, the NVV has invested more than $120 million from Auction Napa Valley proceeds in community nonprofits in Napa County.

"Since 1981, the NVV has set the standard for a single industry taking care of those in need in its own community. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue our leadership role and ensure that we invest the proceeds from Auction Napa Valley strategically to create the most significant, long-term, positive impact possible," said Linda Reiff, president and CEO of the Napa Valley Vintners.

The NVV's investment in these organizations fills critical gaps in community health services by providing the flexibility of unrestricted funds to address some of the most pressing needs for those without other options to receive timely primary, preventative, acute and emergency care.

"Because of the investment and partnership of the Napa Valley Vintners, the Children's Health Initiative (CHI) is able to make sure that all children in Napa County have access to affordable comprehensive health insurance and health, dental, vision, and mental health care," noted Mark Diel, CEO of CHI. "The NVV has been a key funder of CHI since our inception and is the most significant private sector supporter of our efforts. In large part due to the generosity of the Napa Valley Vintners and Auction Napa Valley bidders, Napa County is a shining example not only to California, but to the rest of the country of the powerful and positive strides that collaboration can make in providing healthcare to a community."

Recipients receiving Auction Grant Funding to help create a healthy community:

Children’s Health Initiative (CHI), Napa County:

CHI secures affordable health insurance for low-income children, connects them with all needed healthcare resources and provides follow up services to help keep children insured.

Since 2005, 13,000 Napa County children have been enrolled in health insurance through CHI. $286,750

Community Health Clinic Ole (includes Healthy Moms and Babies and Sister Ann Dental Clinic)

Clinic Ole is a Federally Qualified Health Center and the only nonprofit clinic in Napa County providing primary and preventative medical and behavioral healthcare for a wide range of residents— including hospitality staff, farmworkers and other low income un- or under-insured workers—charging for services on a sliding-fee scale based on federal poverty guidelines. In addition to the main clinic in the Napa Valley Vintners Community Health Center in Napa, it operates clinics in St. Helena and Calistoga, provides weekly clinics at Napa's two homeless shelters and oversees a clinic for students at Napa Valley College.

More than 25,000 Napa County residents are served annually by Clinic Ole, including more than 7,000 children. $1,500,000

Pediatric Dental Initiative (PDI) Surgery Center

PDI Surgery Center is the only nonprofit pediatric dental surgery center in the United States focusing on treating low-income children with severe tooth decay under general anesthesia, as well as promoting oral health through preventative education. Tooth decay is one of the nation's most prevalent childhood health epidemics.

Within the last year, more than 200 children in Napa County have been served by PDI Surgery Center. $57,000

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood’s goal is to provide optimum services to low-income populations through a comprehensive approach to healthcare that includes education to prevent disease and avoid unintended pregnancies.

Planned Parenthood serves more than 10,500 Napa County residents annually. $150,000

Queen of the Valley Medical Center

Queen of the Valley Medical Center is a full-service nonprofit hospital located in Napa. Its CARE Network program is designed to manage chronic disease to reduce the acute medical, psychosocial and economic self-sufficiency needs of low-income patients who are un- or under-insured. Other preventative programs provided at low or no cost include cardiac rehabilitation, a cancer wellness program, its mobile van, its Healthy for Life childhood obesity program and immunization of appropriate hospital patients for pneumonia and influenza.

Queen of the Valley Medical Center serves more than 37,000 Napa County residents annually. $500,000

St. Helena Hospital

St. Helena Hospital is a full-service nonprofit hospital located in St. Helena. It employs multi-faceted approaches to prevention and early intervention for patients and the community, offering programs designed to help patients adopt and sustain a healthy lifestyle; promoting and offering screenings for early detection of disease and wellness; providing appropriate interventions; and community education on a number of health-related topics.

St. Helena Hospital serves more than 22,300 Napa County residents annually. $500,000

About the Napa Valley Vintners
The Napa Valley Vintners is the nonprofit trade association responsible for promoting and protecting the Napa Valley appellation as the premier winegrowing region. From seven founding members in 1944, today the association represents nearly 500 Napa Valley wineries and is a leader in the worldwide wine industry. To learn more about our region and its extraordinary wines, visit napavintners.com.

Contact: Cate Conniff, Communications Manager 707.968.4229 cconniff@napavintners.com