Mercy Foundation Makes $1M Available to Aid Virus Response

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Mercy Health Foundation has made $1 million in unrestricted funds available to support Mercy Health-Youngstown’s staff and programs during the coronavirus outbreak.

“In my five years here, this is an unprecedented situation. This is a critical public health emergency,” says the foundation’s president, Paul Homick. “We decided to act decisively as a board to address this situation in the best possible way to make it as agile and expeditious for those in need.”

The funds will support Mercy Health staff, providing funds for buying additional equipment and for needs as simple as providing water and food, he says.

“We want the folks coming in to be safe. These people are on the front lines and we want to support them however we can,” he says. 

Also supported are Mercy Health programs that provide resources to the area’s most vulnerable populations, such as the Fruit & Vegetable Rx Program and Double Up Food Bucks, which allows Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to double their spending.

“We know there are a lot of people in vulnerable populations that will need assistance,” Homick says. “This allows us to immediately respond to those needs and make it more accessible so we can deliver the best services possible wherever they’re needed.”

While those are currently the funded efforts, he says, the funding will be awarded to other programs and efforts within the local Mercy Health system as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

“This is very new. This is in real-time. That’s what’s been funded so far, but there are other requests that are in the works,” he says. 

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.