2009 Grant Awards

In December 2009, the First Hospital Foundation awarded over $1.3 million in grant awards to 38 nonprofit agencies serving residents in the Philadelphia Region.

Grants to the Community

11th Street Family Health Services Center of Drexel University - $25,000 grant in support of the Center’s provision of comprehensive, community-based, nurse-managed health care to vulnerable people in North Philadelphia through its Healthy Living Center model of care.

AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania - $15,000 for third year of funding to provide free legal counsel and representation to clients in securing all health care benefits to which he or she is entitled.

ALS Association, Greater Philadelphia Chapter - $20,000 grant in support of services to victims of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), an irreversible neuro-degenerative disease which leads to disability and death.

Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia - $20,000 grant in support of the Counseling Center’s child victim specialist to provide individual and group therapeutic counseling to children, youth and adults traumatized by exposure to violence.

Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor - $10,000 grant in support of the expansion of their nurse-managed primary care services at the Unity Clinic to uninsured, non-English speaking working poor in South Philadelphia.

Bethesda Project - $50,000 grant in support of its comprehensive care to vulnerable people encompassing emergency shelters and transition and permanent housing at 20 locations throughout Philadelphia. Extensive support services are provided including drug and alcohol counseling, literacy programs, job referrals, intensive case management, health assessments and medical support services.

Bridging the Gaps – $30,000 of a two-year grant in support of the Philadelphia Community Health Internship Program to teach future health professionals about the reciprocal connections among the health care system and the health of the economically disadvantaged populations in Philadelphia.

Calcutta House - $30,000 grant in support of residential care - nursing, palliative care, food/nutrition services, counseling/education, rehabilitative and psychosocial services and life skills training to homeless, indigent, HIV/AIDS people in Philadelphia.

Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia - $48,500 grant in support of a new community health initiative outreach coordinator to provide education and health screening for physical and behavioral health care and referral for care for Cambodian American and Southeast Asian Americans living in the Philadelphia area.

Center in the Park - $20,000 grant in support of health promotion services to individuals age 55+ in the Philadelphia community. Programs including Harvest Health Chronic Disease Self-Management, Diabetes Self-Management Training and In Touch: Mind, Body, Spirit-Supporting the Health of African-American Elders.

Child Abuse Prevention Effort (CAPE) - $10,000 grant in continued support of the Emergency Family Fund to provide essential emergency needs for children such as food, clothing, beds and bedding, school supplies and uniforms and shelter to struggling families, both those where the risk of abuse is high and those that have been rejoined by a child that has been in foster care.

Children’s Crisis Treatment Center - $35,000 of a two-year grant in support of an outpatient care coordinator to increase child and family participation in CcTC outpatient services, to facilitate positive child progression during treatment, to improve customer satisfaction, and assure appropriate linkages for acute care services.

Congreso de Latinos Unidos - $25,000 of a two-year grant in support of the Un Buen Comienzo (“A Good Beginning”) program to address the mental health needs of pregnant and parenting women through enhanced in-home clinical services provided by master’s level clinicians.

Crozer Chester Medical Center - $40,000 of third year of funding in support of the Youth Leadership Program, which trains high school students in the Chester Upland School District to be peer leaders and community health educators in order to address medical and social issues that negatively impact the health of students.

Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre - $5,000 grant in support of the comprehensive education and outreach program for health care providers in Delaware County hospitals and health care facilities between them and deaf and hard-of-hearing health care consumers.

Federation Early Learning Services - $40,000 of a two-year grant in support of the early intervention program for preschool children with special needs in the Greater Philadelphia region.

The Food Trust - $25,000 grant in support of the expansion and development of its organizational capacity and infrastructure to continue its extensive programs and strategies to prevent childhood obesity and other diet-related diseases through innovative programs to increase access to fresh food and provide nutrition education to underserved communities in the Philadelphia region.

HealthLink Medical Center - $25,000 grant in support of free primary medical and dental care to working uninsured adults living in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Services are provided by volunteer healthcare professionals. Free prescription drugs are provided to patients requiring pharmaceutical intervention and health education is provided to help patients make choices that create healthy lifestyles.

Keystone Hospice - $25,000 grant in support of comprehensive home-based and residential hospice care by trained staff and volunteers to terminally ill men, women and children who do not have available caregivers and have neither insurance nor personal means to afford services.

MANNA - $25,000 grant in support of the Food as Medicine research project to demonstrate the effect of MANNA’s home-delivered meal program on costs of medical care.

Maternity Care Coalition - $30,000 grant in continued support of the MOMobile program at Riverside Correctional Facility for women in Philadelphia to provide women who are pregnant or mothers of young children with health education, parenting skills training, individual counseling and group sessions, and labor and delivery support through trained Doulas. Re-entry case management services are provided for one year after a woman’s release.

Philabundance - $20,000 grant in support of the Fresh for All program to provide fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishable items to people in need. Fresh for All is a farmer’s market style distribution at fixed sites in Southeastern Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Prevention Point Philadelphia - $30,000 grant in support of a full-time social worker for the Street-side Health Project, which provides healthcare services including vaccinations, physical examinations, health screenings, and referrals to social service agencies to homeless, uninsured, unemployed, low-income people in North and South Philadelphia.

Public Citizens for Child Advocates - $5,000 of a two-year grant in support of the Child Health Watch Helpline outreach services to parochial and charter school students to assist in obtaining and maintaining health care insurance and access to health care.

Puentes de Salud - $25,000 grant in support of the clinic’s provision of free primary and preventive care and health education and outreach by volunteer practitioners in the Latino community of South Philadelphia.

Support Center for Child Advocates - $20,000 grant in continued support of the programs and training workshops for volunteer attorneys and paralegals that in turn provide free legal services to help improve the health and well-being of medically needy children in Philadelphia who are subject to protective proceedings in Family Court.

Temple University, School of Dentistry - $25,000 grant in support of a pilot project, in collaboration with Maternity Care Coalition, to provide oral health education to pregnant women and children ages 0-3 years through the MOMobile and in client homes, increase identification of Early Childhood Caries and referrals of caregivers and children to Temple University or neighborhood clinics for restorative care when needed.

The Clinic - $40,000 of a two-year grant in support of a staff nurse at The Clinic in Phoenixville, Chester County. The clinic’s volunteer medical professionals provide comprehensive primary and specialty services.

University of Pennsylvania - $50,000 of a two-year grant in support of the Urban Nutrition Internship Program, which involves high school students in year-round job training and skills development through urban gardens, youth-run farm stands and the teaching of families to prepare affordable, healthy meals in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia - $40,000 grant to purchase digital cameras to aid in wound care services to chronically ill and elderly patients who are un- and under-insured. They will utilize the McKesson Wound Advisor technology to provide wound care treatment.

Women Against Abuse - $40,000 of a two-year grant to expand behavioral health services at the WAA emergency shelter using trauma-informed interventions for victims of domestic violence.

Pennsylvania Hospital Program Grants

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology – $48,178 for third year of funding in support of the Latinas Health Services Program to provide diagnostic clinical screenings and prenatal care for Mexican women who are uninsured and ineligible to receive Medicaid benefits. The program is a collaborative effort between Pennsylvania Hospital, Women and Children's Health Services and the Puente de Salud clinic in South Philadelphia.

Diabetes Education Center - $57,000 grant in continued support of the Healthy Futures Education Program, which provides education and support for the ever growing numbers of diabetes patients who visit the center for care.

Family Education Department - $55,000 grant in continued support of a lactation consultant to provide breastfeeding education and support services for Women and Children’s Health Services clients.

J. Edwin Wood Clinic - $25,000 grant in support of the provision of outpatient medical services to low-income, underinsured residents of Philadelphia.

Joan Karnell Cancer Center

• Geriatric Oncology Program - $41,000 grant in continued support of Living Well education and outreach program focused on symptom management, maintaining functional status and independence and improving quality of life.
• Supportive Care Fund - $25,000 grant to assist families facing crises by providing financial support for medication expenses, nutritional supplements, patient and family living expenses, grocery vouchers, bus tokens, and taxi vouchers.

Women and Children’s Health Services - $20,000 grant for the purchase of an ultrasound machine, to be located in the center, to assure that this standard test is obtained by clients. Immediate feedback will be provided by the physician, and a nurse coordinator will assist the patients with specialist referrals, additional testing or treatment.

Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Preservation Grants

Conservation of Benjamin West’s “Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple” Painting - $5,860 grant to support the repair and restoration of the historic painting.

Save the Pine Building - $100,000 of a three-year grant to preserve the nation’s original and first hospital structure. This preservation campaign is integral to not only maintaining the architectural value of the Pine Building, but also integral to preserving the social associative and commemorative value related to that period in history when this important edifice was built. The Pine Building represents the inception of structured scientific inquiry, medicine, medical education and the provision of healthcare for the indigent and mentally ill.

Historic Collections - $59,850 of a three-year grant for the Hospital’s full-time archivist to arrange, describe and preserve the artifacts and memorials of the Hospital; to conserve rare books; to monitor the physical status/location of fine art and furniture; to provide tours of the historic Pine Building; and to coordinate and host exhibits and conferences highlighting the Hospital’s history.