Mercy Health Foundation Invests $6M in Programs

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A $6 million investment from the Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley will bring new programs to Mercy Health’s sites throughout the area and improve those already available.

In announcing the grants, the foundation said that money will be used in programs that “care for all aspects of life: mind, body and spirit.”

“The programs we were able to support address ongoing health needs in our communities as well as empower Mercy Health to be more responsive to the most urgent health crises such as the opioid epidemic,” said the foundation’s president, Paul S. Homick Jr. “No Valley resident should go undiagnosed or without treatment and everyone must have equitable access to health care.”

Funding for the investments came from individual and corporate donors, as well as federal, state and local grants, said Crystal Jones, the foundation’s director of grants and contracts.

“Over the last several years we have been able to help address many health disparities across all demographics such as providing dental care through the Kikel Mobile Smile Station, and mammograms at the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center among many others,” Jones noted.

Beyond the $6 million investment in the system, Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley also recently formed a partnership with the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board. As part of the collaboration – $140,000 has been invested, the foundation says – peer recovery coaches have been put in Mercy Health emergency rooms to provide overdose patients with recovery support after they leave the hospital.

“This partnership, to my knowledge, is unique among all Ohio counties which receive direct funding,” said Tracy Plouck, director of Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.