Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital Donates $149,928 to local nonprofits in 2024

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (February 1, 2024) - Dignity Health SequoiaHospital announced today the distribution of $149,928 to community based organizations. Sequoia Hospital’s grant program helps to improve community health and health equity, and enhance local service systems, via restricted charitable contributions for defined projects. 

“Addressing critical health needs is not just a responsibility, it’s our commitment to the present and future of our community,” said Bill Graham, President & CEO, Sequoia Hospital. “Our mission is to give back and provide access to essential resources to help bridge gaps and support the well-being of every individual.” 

Sequoia Hospital funding for local nonprofits is part of Dignity Health California's statewide total of $5.2M that was provided via community grants to nearly 100 organizations. 

"Dignity Health's annual community grants program is a testament to our dedication to improving the health and well-being of Californians," shares Julie J. Sprengel, California Region President, CommonSpirit Health. "By awarding over five million dollars in grants to nearly 100 non-profit partners, together, we are addressing some of the more challenging public health issues, such as food and housing insecurities, domestic violence, and mental health."

Every three years, Dignity Health and health system partners conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment in each county to determine the most pressing health priorities.

A total of $149,928 was distributed among the following seven community based organizations: 

• Acknowledge Alliance - $20,000 
• CommunityOvercoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) - $20,000 
• Friends For Youth - $20,000 
• Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower - $22,500 
• LifeMoves - $22,428 
• United through Education- Familias Unidas - $22,500 
• Villages of San Mateo County - $22,500 

Acknowledge Alliance will use the $20,000 grant to fund the Collaborative Counseling Program (CCP) which provides onsite and telehealth mental health counseling to underserved and extremely high-risk students. Students are seen in individual or group counseling sessions by licensed psychotherapists. Psychotherapy services are trauma-informed, long-term, strength-based, and relationship-based. CCP services help these students reduce their trauma symptoms, gain self-confidence, and improve academically. Annually CCP seesover 300 unique students.

Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) will use the $20,000 grant to fund CORA Family Centered Mental Health Program. The Family-Centered Mental Health Program (FCMH) at CORA supports over 580 individuals in San Mateo County each year who have experienced some form of domestic violence trauma. This vital program serves all ages, starting with the youngest victim witnesses in our Children’s Program, and teens, adults and seniors in the core FCMH Program. CORA helps domestic violence survivors decrease negative symptoms & heal from trauma, reducing the likelihood of re-victimization, and encouraging self-sufficiency for future success. 

Friends For Youth will use the $20,000 grant to fund the The Whole Health for Youth (WHY) Collaborative. The WHY is a multi-agency partnership that aims to improve youth mental health and wellness through coordinated prevention and early intervention services. WHYwill achieve this by hosting site-based mentorship groups and peer counseling groups to serve at least 160 youth between 6th and 10th grade. 

Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower will use the $22,500 grant to fund their project that will address the lasting mental health and safety impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, exacerbated by recent natural disasters, that are driving many to a breaking point. It will equip at least 300 people with prevention/intervention skills to build resilience, and take charge of, safeguard, and act more effectively in the interest of their emotional, mental, and behavioral health and well-being. It will measure observable changes in knowledge and BEHAVIOR using 7 performance indicators. 

LifeMoves will use the $22,428 grant to fund their LifeMoves Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). The HOT works with unsheltered individuals in San Mateo County (SMC) with the goal of encouraging positive decision-making, reducing hospital and emergency room visits, and leaving homelessness. HOT staff work with community partners to connect individuals with services, respond to calls of concern for health and safety, identify residents in need, and provide case management. The HOT will assist a minimum of 50 residents around Sequoia Hospital, working together to develop a strategy to move to stable housing. 

United through Education- Familias Unidas will use the $22,500 grant to fund the Familias Unidas Family Engagement Workshop which offers family engagement classes that encompass educational disciplines such as reading, math, science, technology, arts, and health through an 8-session family engagement workshop. Up to 20 families per workshop learn to create a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition, exercise, dental health education, and diabetes and child obesity prevention classes. Participants are provided access to mental and physical health support, school resources, adult education, and community assistance programs. 

Villages of San Mateo County will use the $22,500 grant to fund their project that addresses needs of aging adults in Sequoia Hospital’s surrounding community to reduce social isolation and increase access to healthcare resources. Project support will enable 10% growth of Village membership and volunteer growth to increase services by 10% for transportation to medical appointments, access to medical equipment loans, and home safety evaluations and home improvements that reduce fall risk. Social gatherings will grow 10% to nurture a caring and socially connected community for our members. 

### 

About Dignity Health

Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.DignityHealth.org.