Health funding alliance announces first round of grants

Huntington County Healing Partners has announced its first round of grants to local organizations.

A unique health-priority funding alliance uniting the Huntington County Medical Society and Parkview Huntington Hospital (PHH) in a shared vision of improved community health, Healing Partners aims to multiply the impact of Huntington County social service programs targeting the most pressing health needs. The alliance was created this year thanks to an endowment gift of more than $1.28 million from the medical society.

“The physicians of Huntington County have been dedicated to the health and wellness of our community for a long time, and this fund is an extension of that mission,” said Matt Pflieger, DO, medical society vice president and Huntington County health officer. “By moving the funds into this endowment at the Parkview Huntington Foundation, we can focus our grants on the Community Needs Assessment that Parkview completes periodically. This will allow us to best direct money to activities that will have the biggest impact on the health and wellness of Huntington County.”

In November, the Healing Partners Council – a committee of representatives from the medical society, the hospital and the foundation – reviewed qualified grant applications received from 20 organizations and selected 11 to receive funding in the first round of annual grants. Funding for the grants consists of interest from the Huntington County Physicians’ Legacy Fund endowment created by the medical society gift, and an annual gift from the hospital’s Community Health Improvement funds.

“The needs of a community shift with time and we want to ensure we are staying in line with those needs,” Pflieger continued. ”The organizations and people receiving awards share the commitment to making lasting change where we live.”

The 11 approved grants total $59,895 and tackle health priorities identified in the Huntington County Health Needs Assessment, which is conducted every three years. The most recent assessment, completed in 2019, cited the county’s major health concerns as chronic disease treatment and management, access to healthy foods, obesity, mental health, and substance use and abuse.

The 2021 recipients are:

Ground Zero Community Center. Purpose: Food, materials and supplies for support groups and programs. Priorities addressed: Substance abuse.

Huntington Area Recreational Trails Association (HARTA). Purpose: Match or stand-alone funding for connecting Erie Rail Trail from Gragg Street to Stults Road, extending available trails and enabling people to get fresh air, exercise, socialization and benefits of time spent in nature, as well as to walk to local businesses and points of interest. Priorities addressed: Obesity, mental health.

Huntington County Community School Corporation. Purpose: Assistance establishing “Around the Table,” a family-focused program on wellness and nutrition. Priorities addressed: Nutrition, obesity.

Indiana Dream Center. Purpose: Broadening available small-group and intensive outpatient service to expand support. Priorities addressed: Mental health, substance abuse.

Love in the Name of Christ (Love INC) of Huntington County. Purpose: Providing healthy food and nutrition options and information through the Huntington County Food Pantry. Priorities addressed: Nutrition, obesity.

McMillen Health. Purpose: Content funding for 10 Preventive Health Education for Youth programs to be made available to K-12 students through Huntington County Community School Corporation. Priorities addressed: Substance abuse, obesity.

Parkview Boys & Girls Club of Huntington. Purpose: Build positive club climate through implementing new programs, training and equipping staff, and organizational planning. Priorities addressed: Mental health.

Parkview Family YMCA. Purpose: As part of a national YMCA blood pressure-monitoring initiative, purchase and install a blood pressure kiosk for YMCA members (1,600) to monitor their BP at no cost. Priorities addressed: Obesity and nutrition.

Respect Team. Purpose: Provide five grade-specific programs addressing suicide prevention among middle and high school age students. Priorities addressed: Mental health, substance use.

Visiting Nurse. Purpose: Individual or support group grief-counseling services in Huntington County, through Visiting Nurse and other community resources, for families of former hospice patients. Priorities addressed: Mental health.

Youth Services Bureau of Huntington County. Purpose: Suicide prevention education partnering with other community organizations in outreach to vulnerable groups, veterans and older citizens. Priorities addressed: Mental health.

“We were very pleased with the number and quality of the applicants to the Healing Partners Fund,” said Doug Selig, president of PHH and member of the Healing Partners Council. “It was excellent to learn more about each of the applicants and the great work they are doing in our community. We are more than excited to see the impact of the Healing Partners grants to these outstanding organizations.”

Local 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations will be able to apply for funding again in 2022. Information on the timing of the next grant cycle will be available in the spring.

“The pandemic has been an unsettling and difficult time for not-for-profit organizations trying to support the well-being of our citizens who are most at risk,” said Healing Partners Council member Nicole Johnson, chair of the Parkview Huntington Foundation board of directors. “It’s such a joy that we can embark on this incredibly positive mission now – thanks to the medical society’s creation of this very special endowment through the foundation – to help those organizations access dollars to address really important physical and mental health needs for individuals and families.”

For information on Huntington County Healing Partners, email HealingPartners@parkview.com.