Corporate News and Events

Trinity Health Enriches Community Health Care with Grants Totaling Nearly $1M

Grant enables first-of-its-kind mobile medical unit in Indiana

NOVI, Michigan – Taking another step toward a national transformation of its community health care, Trinity Health has awarded more than $986,000 in grants to community health programs in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and Ohio. The grants are drawn from the Trinity Community Health Fund, which acts as an internal “safety net” to strengthen and expand programs serving people with little or no health insurance. They are used to fund health care practitioners; increase clinical capacity and access; encourage the development of health education in underserved areas; and stimulate community-based collaboration.

“One of the main principles of Trinity Health is to support and help build strong, successful local health programs that have a major impact on the health status of our communities,” said Sister Gretchen Elliott, RSM, Senior Vice President of Mission Integration at Trinity Health. “Through the Trinity Community Health Fund, we are creating opportunities to improve the health of the communities served by our ministry.”

The Trinity Community Health Fund annually awards grants to health programs operated through Trinity Health organizations that improve the overall health of communities, provide support to at-risk populations, foster collaboration and enhance the system’s ministry. One such program at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in South Bend, Ind., is utilizing its $100,000 grant toward the purchase of a mobile medical unit that will provide easier access to care and educational services in at-risk areas. The full-service clinic on wheels is the first of its kind to become a licensed mobile medical unit by the State Board of Health in Indiana.

“We are grateful for the grant provided to us by the Trinity Community Health Fund,” said Michelle Peters, Director of Outreach Services, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. “Members of our at-risk communities often do not receive the care they need because they lack access to the services. With the mobile medical unit, we are removing that barrier to care.”

The unit will be staffed by a nurse practitioner, able to not only conduct basic health screenings but also address any urgent care needs typically handled in a doctor’s office. The program partners with local community health agencies to educate its surrounding neighborhoods on the importance of receiving routine health care. The unit is not meant to serve as a primary care provider for its patients but as an initial point of contact for continued care within the health system.

“We are very excited about the mobile medical unit, it is exactly what we’ve been praying for,” said Sheral Anderson, executive director, St. Joseph County Minority Health Collation.

Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center will unveil the mobile medical unit on May 1 to kick off ‘Cover the Uninsured Week.’ The vehicle is expected to be in service by early summer.

This year’s other Trinity Community Health Fund grant recipients are:

Better Bones – Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. received a $58,000 grant to sponsor a free senior exercise program to prevent and decrease osteoporosis. The program will improve its current Bone Builders osteoporosis exercise program by employing certified fitness instructors and providing biannual, noninvasive bone density testing as an outcome measurement.

Breastfeeding Center – The Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center also plans to develop a breastfeeding center supporting new mothers. The program, created through an $83,000 grant, will provide the resources and encouragement for new mothers to make fully informed decisions about their health and that of their babies.

Culturally Competent Health Care for the Hispanic Population – Mercy Medical Center - North Iowa received a two-year, $131,500 grant to provide respectful, culturally- and linguistically-appropriate services to North Iowa’s growing Hispanic population.

Diabetes Wellness – The Saint Mary's Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology in Grand Rapids, Mich. received more than $90,000 for a project to link diabetes self-management education and an individualized exercise program at a local health club to improve knowledge about diabetes; attain better glucose control; reduce blood pressure and body mass index; and to foster permanent lifestyle changes.

Health Outreach for Perinatal Education and Services (HOPES) – The Saint Mary's Health System received a $149,000 grant to address the disparities that exist among minority populations. The system developed a project aimed at reducing infant mortality and decreasing rates of pre-term, low birth weight infants. The project will also provide one-on-one support services to African-American and Hispanic women, and children up to age two in Grand Rapids and Sparta, Mich.

Chronic Disease Among Patients with Limited English Proficiency – The Mount Carmel Health Systems Foundation in Ohio is utilizing its $150,000 grant to develop a program to improve patient outcomes among chronically ill, low-income, high-risk, primarily immigrant persons with limited English proficiency. The program will utilize culturally-appropriate, intensive patient engagement with a multidisciplinary team of health center staff to achieve its goal.

Mount Carmel Crime & Trauma Assistance Program – The Mount Carmel Foundation received an $84,000 grant to develop a program that utilizes education and therapeutic intervention to aid in the healing process for victims of sexual assault and children affected by violence.

Palliative Care Community Coalition – Trinity Health awarded a two-year, $150,000 grant to St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, Pontiac, Mich., which is working with three community hospitals to expand and increase the knowledge of pain management and palliative care.

The Prescription Resource Network (PRN) Collaborative Project – The purpose of this $25,000 grant is to support the PRN Collaborative program by improving the existing database, creating a communication system with Senior Citizen Services and connecting the PRN process with the Parish Nurse Documentation system.

A major component of the Trinity Health Community Benefits Ministry, the Trinity Community Health Fund has awarded nearly $5.5 million in grants to programs that are operated by Trinity Health-owned or -managed member hospitals since its inception in 2000. It is anticipated that this year’s investment of nearly $1 million in community health programming will ultimately save lives and lower health care costs.