Con Alma Health Foundation

History

In 2001, a group of health consumer advocates and policy makers were convened to decide how best to invest the proceeds of the sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, a not-for-profit corporation. State law required that its non-charitable assets of more than $20 million be set aside for a similar organization. That nonprofit organization became Con Alma Health Foundation (CAHF), the largest foundation in New Mexico solely dedicated to health.

In May 2002 the Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) was sold by Banner Health Systems, a non-profit corporation, to Province HealthCare, a for-profit corporation. Some proceeds from the sale were preserved to serve the unmet healthcare needs of the people of Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and northern Santa Fe counties. The Hospital Auxiliary for LAMC and CAHF, working as the Northern New Mexico Health Grant Group (NNMHGG), award grants annually.

For its 10th Anniversary in 2011, Con Alma Health Foundation celebrated the work of its more than 400 grantees and the investment of more than $10 million dollars to improve health in New Mexico.

CAHF’s assets go beyond the dollars with which it makes grants. The Foundation advocates for health policy and brings people and organizations together, acting as a catalyst for improving health, especially for the underserved.