CHI Memorial Awards Grants to Five Local Nonprofits

CHI Memorial has awarded $278,000 in grants to five local nonprofit organizations to improve community health.  Recipients of the grant funds are Medical Foundation of Chattanooga, Welcome Home of Chattanooga, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, LIFT Youth Center, and HopeSpur, Inc.  The funds will support local residents without health insurance, persons experiencing homelessness, and youth programs.

“We are pleased to partner with these wonderful organizations that work every day to improve the health of our community,” shared Janelle Reilly, market president, CHI Memorial.  “Through these partnerships, we are working to address significant health and well-being issues, and we can’t wait to see the impact of this work.” 

The grants will be used for the following projects this year:

• Medical Foundation of Chattanooga received $67,500 to support Project Access.  The program coordinates specialty medical care between physicians, hospitals, and other community partners who donate their services, and local residents who don't qualify for other programs.
• Welcome Home of Chattanooga, which provides hospice and respite care to historically marginalized populations, received $80,852 to expand its social services, access to mental health treatment, and nutritional support for the people it serves.
• Catholic Charities of East Tennessee fosters human dignity of the vulnerable in our region through shelter, counseling, education, advocacy, and reverence for life.  The charity received $97,124 for respite care for individuals experiencing homelessness who are discharged from CHI Memorial with an order for home healthcare services.
• LIFT Youth Center, a free afterschool youth center for middle and high school students in Catoosa County, was awarded $12,685 to provide evidenced-based education to address violence and prevention to give students valuable tools and skills.
• HopeSpur, Inc.’s mission is to make mental health care accessible to Dalton residents.  The nonprofit received $20,000 for suicide prevention education and training.

This grant program was open to nonprofit organizations that address the following priorities – access to affordable healthcare and insurance, mental/behavioral health, and prevention and education.  The priorities were identified in CHI Memorial’s most recent Community Health Needs Assessment, which is conducted every three years to help the hospitals and community partners identify and address priority health and social needs faced by residents and the region.

This opportunity was part of the CommonSpirit Health Community Health Improvement Grants program.