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Three grants total $45,000
YOUNGSTOWN
The Western Reserve Health Foundation, previously held under the bankrupt Forum Health, has made its first distribution of grants since its $13 million in endowment assets was released by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
In its first round of grants for 2014, the foundation gave $25,000 to the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic and $10,000 each to the American Red Cross Mahoning Valley Chapter and Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries.
Phillip Dennison, WRHF board chairman, announced the grants Thursday at the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic, 2151 Rush Blvd.
The mission of WRHF, which is affiliated with the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, is to improve the well-being of Mahoning County residents by supporting innovative programs and services that address community health needs, said Dennison, who also was chairman of the Forum Health board when the hospital system filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Community Health Services, based in Tennessee, purchased Forum Health for $120 million in 2010, and changed the name to ValleyCare Health System of Ohio. ValleyCare operates Northside Medical Center in Youngstown, Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland.
“This is a very big day. It’s nice to be sitting on a pot of money that you can give to help the people of Mahoning County,” he said.
Neil Kennedy will use its $25,000 to help pay for construction of the six-bed Frank and Pearl Gelbman Recovery House on Emery Street, which is adjacent to the clinic’s main South Side campus.
Construction, estimated to cost about $300,000, is expected to get underway in June and be completed by the end of the year, said Jerry Carter, clinic executive director.
Carter said Gelbman House will provide safe, transitional- supportive housing for patients after detoxification. It also will enable Neil Kennedy to increase the number of patients receiving detoxification services, to engage patients in long-term treatment and to reduce the number of patients on the waiting list for treatment.
“As the rate of opiate addiction soars in Mahoning County, the need for detoxification services has become staggering,” Carter said.
Annually, the clinic treats more than 500 people with more than 930 individuals in need of detoxification placed on a wait list, 479 of whom are wait-listed for more than a year, he said.
“Goodwill Industries will use its $10,000 to support its visual-services program, particularly screening of preschool children for amblyopia, commonly known as ‘lazy eye,’” said Michael W. McBride, executive director.
If not caught early, amblyopia can cause eye problems up to and including blindness, he said.
Also, McBride said, Goodwill makes referrals to doctors when necessary, and the grant also will be used to subsidize that cost when families can’t afford it.
The Red Cross will use its $10,000 grant to help subsidize its Nurse Assistant Training program that produces state-tested nurse assistants or home health aides.
Among students who complete the course, 96 percent graduate, 97 percent pass the STNA examination, and 92 percent who have earned their STNA certification find employment, Red Cross officials said.