Northwestern Medicine Awards $1.7 Million in Grants to Community Partners
Northwestern Medicine Awards $1.7 Million in Grants to Community Partners (Palos Heights, IL) — Northwestern Medicine serves patients across more than 10,000 square miles of Northern Illinois. To better address the diverse needs of individual communities, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare launched a grant initiative to address disparities highlighted in local Community Health Needs Assessments.
This funding initiative, which is just one facet of Northwestern Medicine’s community giving campaign, offered grants to local agencies supporting specific health and wellness projects. Northwestern Medicine awarded more than $1.7 million to 49 organizations that offer a wide range of services including housing, nutritional needs, transportation, childcare, mental health and primary care.
“Northwestern Medicine is committed to making our community as healthy as it can be,” said Posh Charles, senior vice president, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “This initiative, which is just one way Northwestern Medicine contributes to the community, enhances our ability to provide highly targeted support to partners addressing priority health concerns in their individual locales.”
In fiscal year 2021, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare provided more than $1.14 billion in community benefits including charity care and the unreimbursed costs incurred caring for Medicaid and Medicare patients, training tomorrow’s health care workforce, conducting medical research, and other community benefits that help preserve access to care for the residents of Chicago, its suburbs and Northern Illinois.
The beneficiaries of the community grants range in size and scope from the YMCA of Metro Chicago to the Oak Forest Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an organization that provides fully furnished twin beds for children who sleep on floors, couches and other situations without beds.
Agencies in the southern suburbs who received grants include:
- Sertoma Centre, Inc.
- Pathlights
- Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Inc.
“Our goal is to collaborate and support local agencies to address healthcare disparities across all socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Charles. “We sought out organizations that are making a difference by removing barriers to better health.”
The grant for the Sertoma Centre will support individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and those living with mental illness. The funds will assist Sertoma Centre complete health screenings onsite with linkage to appropriate medical services. In addition, funds will support education groups about medical care and preventive services.
“Sertoma is honored and excited to receive a grant from Northwestern Medicine. The grant funds will be essential to our agency to expand our medical services to the vulnerable populations. All these services are so essential for our clients, and we are thankful for our partnership with Northwestern Medicine,” said Kirk Hanson, Sr. director of community mental health and counseling, Sertoma Centre.
In addition to grant funding, as part of Northwestern Medicine’s Team NM initiative, Northwestern Medicine employees build healthier communities through volunteer service and thoughtful actions. Team NM volunteers weed and water the Aurora Food Pantry’s Essential Garden, help sort and label food at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, collected coats for Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, put together beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and assembled heart-healthy care packages for patients at Tri-City Health Partnership.
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Northwestern Medicine Awards $1.7 Million in Grants to Community Partners
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