Catholic Health Initiatives Provides $10.9 Million to Help Build Healthier Communities

Catholic Health Initiatives, the nation’s third-largest nonprofit health system, has awarded grants totaling $10.9 million to innovative programs designed to build healthy communities. A total of 31 separate grants will create and support programs that address violence prevention, access to mental health services, nutrition education and many other factors that contribute to better health.

The grants are from CHI’s Mission and Ministry Fund, created when the organization was formed in 1996. During the past 20 years, the Fund has awarded 483 grants totaling more than $74 million. The grants help start and support projects that improve the health of communities, often by serving disadvantaged individuals and populations.

Grant applications may be submitted by CHI’s affiliated organizations, participating congregations and strategic partners. All supported initiatives must meet an identified community need, invite collaboration with partners in the community, and be replicable in other communities.

“We are fortunate that we are able to present these grants, which will be used to address priority health needs for thousands of people,” said Kevin E. Lofton, chief executive officer of CHI. “Our hospitals and participating religious congregations are often the facilitators of these projects, but each is driven by a broad collaboration of stakeholders in each community, including those who will be served by the projects.”

Some grants are earmarked for CHI’s national commitment to ending violence, while others go to improving the health status of vulnerable populations outside the U.S. Since 2008, the Mission and Ministry Fund has provided approximately $19 million to support more than 40 separate violence-prevention projects in communities served by CHI.

The 2016 Mission and Ministry Fund grants were presented to:

Centura Health/CHI Colorado Foundation/South State Operating Group/Penrose St. Francis Health, Colorado Springs, CO
$213,565 for Helping Babies and Mothers Survive: Expanding the Maternal-Child Health Continuum in Peru and Haiti through Training and Outreach
Reduce neonatal mortality rates in the Loreto region of Peru and in Haiti.

CHI Health, Omaha, NE
$2,273,541 (over three years) for Plan for Behavioral Health Services Across CHI Health
Create responsive, supportive networks for behavioral health treatment.

$1,123,455 (over three years) for CHI Health Community Link
Create an integrated model of care that will remove barriers to health care access.

$173,203 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on intimate partner violence.

CHI Health St. Elizabeth, Lincoln, NE
$360,456 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on youth violence.

CHI Memorial, Chattanooga, TN
$121,000 (over two years) for Healthy Kids at Ivy
Improve the overall health of students with a holistic approach to physical and emotional health.

CHI Mercy Health, Valley City, ND
$35,000 for Valley City Wellness for All
Empower children at risk for obesity to increase their physical activity.

CHI St. Gabriel’s Health, Little Falls, MN
$97,380 (over two years) for Live Better Live Longer – Eat Smart
Inspire people to live better and longer through healthy eating, physical activity, and positive social connections.

CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health, Lancaster, PA
$855,018 (over three years) for The Patchwork Quilt Project: Children’s Psychiatric, Mental and Behavioral Health Services
Expand mental and behavioral health services for children in Lancaster County.

CHI St. Luke’s Health, Houston, TX
$28,650 for Violence Prevention
Design and start-up of a violence prevention initiative focused on human trafficking.

CHI St. Vincent, Hot Springs, AR
$71,510 for Violence Prevention
Design and start-up of a violence prevention initiative focused on suicide prevention.

CHI St. Vincent, Little Rock, AR
$227,400 (over three years) for Improve the Health of the Latino Community in Central Arkansas
Increase health insurance coverage and preventive care in the Latino community.

Dominican Sisters of Peace, Columbus, OH
$91,000 (over two years) for Peace Center (New Orleans, LA)
Continue development of an outreach center in the Marlyville-Fontainebleu neighborhood.

$116,530 (over two years) for Kingston (Jamaica) Neighborhood Youth,
Empower impoverished youth in Kingston, Jamaica, to transform their lives.

$560,650 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on youth and family violence.

Franciscan Foundation, Tacoma, WA
$731,198 (over three years) for Prevent-Alert-Respond Mental Health Initiative
Reduce the prevalence of mental health crises in Pierce County.

Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, Cincinnati, OH
$84,640 for Partners in Health
Improve birth outcomes for low-income women and their babies.

KentuckyOne Health, Louisville, KY
$15,900 for Francis Center
Establish a community outreach ministry to provide health care to underserved populations in two Louisville neighborhoods.

$473,250 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on relationship violence.

Mercy Regional Medical Center, Durango, CO
$568,494 (over three years) for Life Interruptions Need Kindness (LINK)
Help patients who are the most frequent users of the emergency department achieve better health and quality of life.

Mother of God Monastery, Watertown, SD
$102,078 for Violence Prevention
Design and start-up of a violence prevention initiative focused on human trafficking.

Samaritan Behavioral Health, Inc., Dayton, OH
$604,824 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on neighborhood crime.

Sisters of Mercy – West Midwest Community, Omaha, NE
$72,955 for Violence Prevention
Design and start-up of a violence prevention initiative focused on human trafficking.

Skiff Medical Center, Newton, IA
$98,907 (over three years) for Jasper County Collaborative: Building Access to Mental Health Services
Form a mental health coalition to improve access to care and patient outcomes.

St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, OR
$288,492 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on child abuse and neglect.

St. Catherine Hospital, Garden City, KS
$384,645 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on family violence.

St. Luke’s Health The Woodlands Hospital, The Woodlands, TX
$168,600 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on youth violence.

St. Mary-Corwin Health Medical Center, Pueblo, CO
$355,083 (over three years) for Score, Connect and Nurture (SCAN): Addressing the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Pediatric Medical Home
Increase the number of families who receive services to prevent adverse childhood experiences.

Pueblo, CO, $174,215 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on child abuse and neglect.

Saint Joseph Hospital, Lexington, KY
$167,700 (over three years) for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on school violence.

Saint Joseph London, London, KY
$286,770 for Violence Prevention
Implement a violence prevention initiative focused on child abuse.

About Catholic Health Initiatives:Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems, expresses its mission each day by creating and nurturing healthy communities in the hundreds of sites across the nation where we provide care. The nation’s third-largest nonprofit health system, Englewood, Colo.-based CHI operates in 19 states and comprises 103 hospitals, including four academic health centers and major teaching hospitals as well as 30 critical-access facilities; community health services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home health agencies; living communities; and other facilities that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2015, CHI provided almost $970 million in financial assistance and community benefit – an 8% increase over the previous year – for programs and services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Financial assistance and community benefit totaled more than $1.6 billion with the inclusion of the unpaid costs of Medicare. The health system, which generated revenues of $15.2 billion in fiscal year 2015, has total assets of $23 billion. Learn more at www.catholichealthinitiatives.org.