Catholic Health Initiatives’ Mission and Ministry Fund Awards Grants of Nearly $3.5 Million to Help Build Healthy Communities

Catholic Health Initiatives, the nation’s third-largest nonprofit health system, has awarded new grants this year totaling nearly $3.5 million to innovative programs designed to build healthy communities. These 14 grants – including $2.5 million to match an award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation -- will support programs that address violence prevention, the needs of patients who are homeless, the nutritional needs of school children and other factors that contribute to better health.

The grants are provided by CHI’s Mission and Ministry Fund, which was created when the organization was formed in 1996. In addition to the 14 new grants for 2017, CHI’s Mission and Ministry Fund this year will provide an additional $5.8 million to 45 earlier grantees supported through multi-year funding from the organization.

During the past 21 years, the Mission and Ministry Fund has almost 500 grants totaling approximately $80 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.

“In a dramatic and measurable way, CHI has created and nurtured healthier communities across the U.S. -- and in several countries throughout the world – through its Mission and Ministry Fund grants,” said Kevin E. Lofton, chief executive officer of CHI. “As a tangible example of our mission, these grants address the urgent needs of our most-vulnerable populations.”

Some grants are earmarked for CHI’s national commitment to ending violence in the communities it serves; others go to improving the health status of vulnerable populations outside the U.S.

The 2017 Mission and Ministry Fund grants were presented to:

Centura Health, Englewood, CO; Mercy Health Network, Des Moines IA; KentuckyOne Health, Louisville, KY
$2.5 million to Build Healthy Communities
CHI matched a $2.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to implement an innovative model for addressing the social determinants of health as an integral part of the health care we provide and to help develop pathways and opportunities to build and sustain healthy communities.

CHI St. Vincent, Hot Springs, AR
$150,000 for Violence Prevention
Reduce suicide rates through evidence-based prevention programs and strategies.

CHI Colorado Foundation/Penrose-St. Francis Health Foundation, Colorado Springs, CO
$160,000 for Helping Babies Survive
Reduce infant mortality in Peru and Nepal.

St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, Frisco, CO
$56,171 for Violence Prevention
Reduce the incidence of drug-facilitated sexual assault and the incidence of domestic violence in Summit County.

Mercy Medical Center, Des Moines, IA
$37,700 for Polk County Health Care for the Homeless
Develop appropriate care and supports for homeless patients discharging from area hospitals.

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Nazareth, KY
$23,233 for Nazareth Preranalaya
Empower women and children to reduce domestic violence, child marriage and substance abuse in Musunuru, India.

CHI St. Francis Health, Breckenridge, MN
$69,938 for Violence Prevention
Increase parenting knowledge and skills to reduce the incidence of child abuse or neglect.

CHI St. Gabriel’s Health, Little Falls, MN
$14,950 for Violence Prevention
Reduce the prevalence of domestic violence and bullying in Morrison County.

CHI St. Joseph’s Health, Park Rapids, MN
$53,918 for Violence Prevention
Reach children and families with multiple efforts to reduce violence in the community.

CHI St. Alexius Health, Carrington, ND
$21,587 for Blessings in a Backpack
Provide for the weekend nutrition needs of students who qualify to receive free or reduced-price meals at school.

Samaritan Behavioral Health, Inc., Dayton, OH
$83,018 for Crisis Intervention Team
Implement a Crisis Intervention Team that can improve response to people in a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Aston, PA
$52,527 for Violence Prevention
Alleviate the psychological and emotional impact of homicides and reduce trauma-related reactive violence in Chester, PA.

St. Luke’s Foundation, Houston, TX
$30,000 for Violence Prevention
Continue to build a coalition to raise awareness of human trafficking as a public health issue and deploy training to help health care professionals recognize the signs.

CHI Franciscan Health, Tacoma, WA
$210,409 for Violence Prevention
Continue implementing strategies to reduce youth violence in Federal Way, the Key Peninsula and Des Moines, WA.

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, Colorado-based CHI operates in 17 states and comprises 100 hospitals, including three 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 and services that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2016, CHI provided more than $1.1 billion in financial assistance and community benefit – a 13% 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 $2 billion with the inclusion of the unpaid costs of Medicare. The health system, which generated operating revenues of $15.9 billion in fiscal year 2016, has total assets of approximately $22.7 billion. Learn more at www.catholichealthinitiatives.org.