Diane Bell: $1 million annual health care prize is one of San Diego’s ‘best-kept secrets’

San Diego Union-Tribune (CA)

Feb. 11--People have heard of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, XPrize, Kyoto Prize and more ... but have you heard of San Diego's own $1 million prize for innovation in the fields of health care and wellness?

The Alliance Healthcare Foundation has been awarding the i2 prize annually to innovative groups and community-focused start-ups in San Diego and Imperial counties since 2010. Last year, there were roughly 100 applications. Think about it -- 100-to-1 odds of capturing a $1 million health care jackpot is certainly better odds than the lottery offers.

In fact, this is billed as the largest private health and wellness prize competition in the United States.

"We're well known in the small circle of social enterprise and nonprofits in San Diego, but we want to expand," explains interim Executive Director Elizabeth Dreicer. She called the prize a "best-kept secret," noting that a Nobel Prize is comparable in dollars -- about $1 million.

One drawback could be the mysterious nickname -- the i2 prize. The two i's stand for Innovation Initiative.

Last year, the $1 million in "venture philanthropy" went to the Multicultural Health Foundation formed by independent physicians. They used the award to form the Prevention Alliance to provide a group of ethnic organizations access to sources of insurance reimbursement they wouldn't be able to tap into individually, thus reducing health costs.

In 2017, the Somali Family Foundation earned the prize for virtual reality headsets that educate San Diego's Somali community in a culturally relevant way about the importance of immunizations. Other past winners include a community free clinic run by UC San Diego medical students and a texting service that sends healthy baby information to high-risk pregnant women.

Another past winner is the Community Information Exchange bringing us 2-1-1 San Diego, the free, 24-hour phone number people can call for non-emergency information. The idea has been copied around the country. Creators say the innovation prize was set up using part of the $84 million in proceeds from the sale of a Community Care Network PPO. It is designed to spawn programs that address health and wellness needs.

Feb. 15 is the 2019 entry deadline. Twenty-five semifinalists will be named in May, then winnowed to five to seven finalists before a winner is announced in July.

"We spend the whole year after the winner is announced working with them," explains Dreicer.

Stepping down: Longtime NBC 7 sportscaster Jim Laslavic is putting down his mike on Feb. 24. The former pro football linebacker-turned-sports newscaster retired from his nightly news duties in 2016. This month, he is stepping down as host of his "SportsWrap" and "Football Night in San Diego" programs as well.

Laslavic, referred to as "Laz," became Channel 7 KNSD sports anchor nearly three decades ago and has hosted many community events over the years, including his annual charity golf tournament with the Coronado Rotary Club.

"I'm excited about my 30 years with NBC 7 and my 36 years on TV locally. I got a lot of help along the way and worked with some wonderful people," he told me. "I'm looking forward to moving on. ... I'll continue to explore the county."

His on-air legacy surely will continue, too, through numerous news broadcasters he has mentored over the years.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: @dianebellSD

Facebook: dianebell.news

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