Congratulations to our Exceptional
Children’s department for receiving
a $76,000 grant from Cardinal
Innovations Healthcare through its
Community Reinvestment Initiative.
The grant will be used to update
and replace FM hearing technology
that is used to ensure a high-
quality hearing environment for
students with hearing impairment
and auditory processing disorders.
EC Department Receives Grant
This state-of-the art equipment
allows teachers and other
speakers to direct their voice into
a microphone that directs sound
into the student’s hearing aids or
amplifier which reduces competing
noise and enhances the student’s
ability to understand the primary
speaker. FM technology has been
shown to produce increased comprehension and increased student
performance.
Cardinal Innovations created the Community Reinvestment Initiative
as a way to make stable, sustainable investments across its
20-county service area. Through this initiative, Cardinal Innovations
asked organizations to submit proposals for programs that would
improve health outcomes for its members with intellectual and
developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, and substance
use disorders.
“The goal of this effort was to identify and fund high-impact projects
in our communities,” said Cardinal Innovations Chief Executive
Officer Trey Sutten. “We could not have been more pleased with the
number of responses and the broad range of requests we received
from organizations throughout our geography. We received so many
innovative proposals that we
actually made the decision to go
beyond our original commitment—
funding more than $4 million
in projects. It’s an investment
in our members, providers and
communities that is right in line
with our mission.”
Cardinal Innovations received
hundreds of proposals from entities
and organizations across its
20-county service area. Proposals
were accepted from municipalities,
counties, public school systems,
colleges and universities as well as
other qualifying non-profits.
Projects were selected for funding
through a comprehensive process
that included reviews by members
of a cross-departmental evaluation committee, as well as reviews by
the Cardinal Innovations Executive Leadership Team and Board of
Directors, followed by approval by the N.C. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Cardinal Innovations Healthcare provides access to Medicaid and
state-funded benefits, providers and supports for more than 850,000
individuals with complex needs. Using a community-based model
of care management, Cardinal Innovations seeks to improve the
health and wellness of its members by collaborating with local
providers and stakeholders. Recognized for operational excellence,
innovative solutions and superior outcomes for members, as well
as accuracy and speed of payments to providers and cost-effective
funds management, Cardinal Innovations is a leading managed care
organization proud to serve North Carolina’s most vulnerable citizens.
For more information, visit cardinalinnovations.org.
Lowder Named Regional Superintendent of the Year
We are super excited to share that our very own superintendent
Dr. Chris Lowder has been selected as Superintendent of the Year
by the Regional Education Service Alliance (RESA). Dr. Lowder was
nominated and selected by his colleagues for this honor and will
represent the Southwest region.
He will now compete for the A. Craig Phillips State Superinten-
dent of the Year, which is jointly sponsored by the North Carolina
Association of School Administrators, the North Carolina School
Superintendents Association and the North Carolina School Boards
Association (NCSBA). The state award is given annually at the NC-
SBA annual meeting in November, and the state winner advances
to compete for the American Association of School Administrators
(AASA) National Superintendent of the Year award.
Congratulations, Dr. Lowder!
We couldn’t be prouder!
Parent Teacher Magazine • September/October 2018 • 5