Grants benefit hospital, Fox Cities

St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation awards $163,000

01 / 11 / 2007

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For more information contact:
Lisa Cruz, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)

APPLETON, Wis. – A new, non-invasive cardiac support pump developed to increase the amount of blood circulation needed in reviving cardiac arrest victims will soon be used by the St. Elizabeth Hospital Intensive Care Unit, thanks to a grant from the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation.

The ICU grant is one of a number of grants totaling more than $163,000 that were recently awarded to support Affinity Health System programs and services, as well as non-profit organizations throughout the Fox Cities and Calumet County.

Recent national studies have concluded that increasing blood flow during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) increases the likelihood of surviving cardiac arrest with fewer complications. “The use of a cardiac support pump increases blood flow to the heart at a rate of up to 33 percent higher than aggressively-performed manual CPR,” said John Gloede, training program coordinator at St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Other grants awarded to Affinity Health System programs:

  • A total of $10,000 will provide medication assistance to patients at St. Elizabeth Hospital and Affinity Medical Group clinics who are uninsured or underinsured. Affinity’s mission is to promote the health and well being of the communities it serves, especially the poor. In 2005, Affinity spent nearly $3.3 million in charity care, free or discounted health and health-related services to people who cannot afford to pay.
  • The Affinity Health System marketing and public relations department received funding for a Spanish version of ADAM patient education content for the Affinity Web site. The online health information contains 30,000 health and wellness articles written by medical specialists from across the country. These articles are updated on a regular basis, offering the most current health news available. Affinity Medical Group physicians can use this health information with Spanish-speaking patients to enhance the patient-physician communication process.
  • The St. Elizabeth Hospital School of Medical Technology will receive funding to upgrade classroom technology.
  • St. Elizabeth Hospital outpatient rehabilitation services will provide financial assistance to rehabilitation patients who use the rehabilitation pool. The rehabilitation pool at St. Elizabeth Hospital has the distinction of being the warmest rehabilitation pool in the community, allowing ultimate healing for patients.

The foundation, through the Wallace Funds, awarded $3,000 in grants to Affinity Health System employees participating in medical mission trips that help the needy in other parts of the world.

The following grants were awarded to community organizations through the foundation’s Community Endowment Fund, established in the 1980s from hospital revenues. Its goal is to support area non-profit organizations in the Fox Cities focused on providing social services. The endowment grows as the foundation’s assets grow. No donations directed to the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation are directed to the Community Endowment Fund.

  • $17,000 to LEAVEN, Inc., for medical prescription assistance to low-income people.
  • $13,000 to Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley, Inc., to offset costs associated with sheltering, feeding and providing case management services to nearly 1,000 homeless individuals.
  • $10,000 to the St. Joseph Food Program for general operating funds.
  • $7,500 to the Tri-County Community Dental Clinic to offset operating costs.
  • $7,000 to the Community Clothes Closet for general operating funds.
  • $7,000 to COTS, Inc. for general operating funds.
  • $6,000 to Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs for the Children’s Program, which provides safety and support to the children affected by domestic abuse.
  • $5,000 to CHAPS Academy, Shiocton, for HOPE Lives, a state of the art, developmentally appropriate equine-assisted suicide prevention and intervention program for adolescents.
  • $5,000 to North Appleton Share for office supplies and translating assistance to support the underserved population.
  • $4,000 to Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, Inc., to offset operating costs.
  • $3,000 to CAP Services, Inc., for the Skills Enhancement program that provides working poor individuals with an opportunity to increase their wages and/or advance their careers by providing continuing education on a part-time basis while they remain employed.
  • $3,000 to Rebuilding Together Fox Valley, a non-profit volunteer organization committed to improving the community by preserving and revitalizing the homes of low-income homeowners, to offset operating expenses.
  • $2,500 to Sexual Assault Crisis Center of the Fox Cities, Inc., for general operating funds.
  • $2,349 to the Appleton Health Department to fund a perinatal care coordination program.
  • $2,000 to the Epilepsy Foundation of Central & Northeast Wisconsin to provide clients with epilepsy medical care and medications.
  • $2,000 to Friendship Place, Inc., to establish a retail store that will provide people with mental illness a place to display and sell their own creative works, and also serve to create better public awareness about mental illness.
  • $2,000 to Reach Counseling Services to fund a child abuse and advocacy program.
  • $1,500 to the Boys & Girls Club Fox Valley, Inc., to fund Triple Play, an initiative to improve the health and wellness of more than 1,200 club members.
  • $1,500 to Youth Go, Neenah, to offset costs of a meal and nutrition program for teens.
  • $1,000 to the Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin for its Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

The St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation is dedicated to living out the healing ministry of Christ with a special emphasis on those in need, by generating, stewarding and distributing funds to enhance the quality of Affinity Health System’s services and programs, and other community health care initiatives in Outagamie and Calumet counties, and northern Winnebago County.

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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is ranked 24 among the top 100 integrated health care networks nationwide (Verispan 2008). Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent among hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It is ranked 37th among the 250 rated health plans in the nation in terms of customer satisfaction and clinical performance, according to the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 23 family practice and specialty clinics in 13 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.