Mercy and Memorial Hospitals to provide $328,126 in funding to local non-profits

The funds are being awarded to eight non-profit organizations whose programs and projects provide a direct service to the poor, chronic disease management, and/or access to health care.

BAKERSFIELD, CA – December 13, 2017 – On Friday, December 15, 2017, eight Kern County non-profit organizations will be presented with grant checks by members of the Dignity Health Community Grants Program review committee. Committee members will visit organizations receiving grant funds to present checks, ranging from $20,000 to $75,000, in support of projects and programs benefitting Kern County communities.

In total, $328,126 is being awarded to eight non-profit organizations whose programs and projects provide a direct service to the poor, chronic disease management, and/or access to health care. To receive funding consideration organizations must apply as an Accountable Care Community, defined as three organizations bringing together different services and assets to serve the community.

The Dignity Health Community Grants Program was established in 1990 as an opportunity to collaborate with other non-profit organizations who are working to improve the health status and quality of life in communities where Dignity Health hospitals are located. Since the program began, $4,210,147 has been awarded to 63 different agencies in Kern County alone.

The following agencies will receive grants from Mercy and Memorial Hospitals this year:

Alpha House - $75,000
207 7th St. Taft, CA 93268

Alzheimer’s Disease Association of Kern County - $26,401
4203 Buena Vista Rd.

Saint Vincent de Paul Store and Center - $70,000
300 Baker Street

Bakersfield Senior Center - $30,000
530 4th Street

Catholic Charities - $32,024
809 Chester

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - $20,000
1800 30th Street, 4th Floor

Links For Life - $50,000
5301 Office Park Dr., Ste 370

Community Action Partnership of Kern County - $24,701
5005 Business Park N

Each Dignity Health hospital has a grants administrator that oversees the program and works directly with the corporate office to ensure that the guidelines are followed and timelines met. Donna Winkley, Manager of Community Wellness Programs, Arts & Spirituality Center, for Mercy & Memorial Hospitals Bakersfield, serves as the Grants Administrator for both hospitals. She works with a grant review committee made up of representatives from both hospitals as well as the community. This committee helps determine which agencies will be invited to submit proposals, reviews those proposals, and selects final awardees. The local review committee consists of: Donna Winkley, Toni Harper Dougherty, Jan Glinn, Loni Hill-Pirtle, Debbie Hull, Denise Hunter, Valerie Lallo, Sister Judy Morasci, Joan Van Alstyne and Michelle Willow.