Reid Community Benefit grants over $90,000 to area groups

Seven community organizations in the region are the recipients of over $90,000 in Reid Community Benefit grants approved for the first grant cycle of 2015, which focused on programs that meet the need of access to health care.

A committee of Reid’s governing board meets quarterly to review grant requests, which are awarded as part of the hospital’s ongoing efforts as a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization. The grants support efforts that have direct impact on the community health needs that are determined in detailed surveys every three years. Continuum of Care Director Billie Kester said the first cycle grants illustrate the significant investment being made to help improve community health.

The grants included:

• $16,875 to Birth to Five in support of their Parents as Teachers program for developmental and health screenings with home visits.
• $18,750 to Communities in Schools to fund the salary of site coordinators, training and supplies.
• $5,400 to Diplomas to support childcare for up to 26 infants and toddlers and for up to 52 teen parents who are students of Richmond High School.
• $23,000 to Hope Center, to fund the salary for a nurse manager, insurance costs, education and miscellaneous expenses.
• $3,750 to Indiana Women in Need (IWIN) for their Survivor Support Program which includes childcare, meal preparation, transportation and housekeeping for up to 30 women in our service area dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
• $12,500 to the Information and Referral Network, Inc. to assist in the expenses for their resource call center that supports Wayne, Fayette, Union, Henry and Randolph counties.
• $10,000 to Victory Lane Camp to fund a video production for training the volunteers of special needs families.

In addition to grants, Reid’s Community Benefit department sponsors various programs focused on community health. A dental clinic has been established to provide services to those in need, lacking insurance and funds. Community Benefit also provides support to local free clinics by processing labs and providing needed supplies. In a direct medical initiative, mammograms are offered free to qualified individuals upon physician referral and are covered by Community Benefit funds.

Community benefit is the basis of the tax-exempt status of not-for-profit hospitals. Reid, like all not-for-profit health care organizations, demonstrates commitment to community service through organized and sustainable community benefit programs by providing free and discounted care to those unable to afford it, care to low-income beneficiaries of Medicaid and other indigent care programs, and services designed to improve community health and increase access to care.