WILMINGTON – ChristianaCare has put $2 million toward its brand shift from health care system to an organization that delivers health to the people it serves, creating a Community Investment Fund that is supporting 32 statewide community organizations.
More than 100 people packed the Francis X. Norton Center in Wilmington on Thursday, Dec. 12, to hear a procession of speakers talk about improving health outcomes; making high-quality care more affordable; building community trust toward the health care system; combating the sense of hopelessness in Wilmington neighborhoods; and, as Mayor Mike Purzycki put it, creating a "just city with an abiding sense of fairness that is welcoming and respectful." Most also made mention of #ForTheLoveOfHealth," which is part of ChristianaCare's brand refresh.
“There are so many organizations in our community that are providing important, effective services that help people to lead healthier lives," ChristianaCare President and CEO Dr. Janice E. Nevin said. "Through these investments, we can help them to sustain and grow these efforts, as we work together to make a positive impact on our community.”
The ChristianaCare Community Investment Fund supports partnerships to build the community's collective capacity to address social, behavioral, and environmental factors that impact health, said Erin Booker, vice president of community health and engagement at ChrisitianaCare.
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Erin Booker[/caption]
"Recipients were selected based on the quality of their proposals and implementation plans, and on the alignment of their proposals with the key priorities of ChristianaCare’s Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Implementation Plan," Booker said, adding that ChristianaCare reached out to hundreds of members of the community to ask them about their needs and personal barriers to good health.
Speaker and donation recipient Sue Ryan of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence describe the event as a "celebration of genuineness."
"You can look in the mirror and remind yourselves that you're good eggs and doing good work," Ryan said to the audience that drew smiles throughout the room.
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Bettina Riveros[/caption]
ChristianaCare Chief Health Equity Officer Bettina Riveros said the program has been in development for about 18 months and was developed in parallel with the health care system's rebranding.
"We're looking at this across our organization," Riveros said. "We have a strong and well-coordinated leadership team that is focused on aligning our resources to increase our effectiveness and impact in our community so all Delawareans can achieve their best health."
Here are the community organizations (and their projects) that received funding from the ChristianaCare Community Investment Fund. ChristianaCare did not break out the amounts for each donation.
Housing
- Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County (HFHNCC): A Brush with Kindness.
- Be Ready Community Development Corporation (BRCDC): Solomon's Court.
Mental Health
- AIDS Delaware: Mental Health Program Expansion.
- Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD): DCAD Health and Wellness Initiative 2019-2020.
- Family Counseling Center of St. Paul's: Building Provider Capacity to Respond to Mental Health Needs of the Latinx Population.
- Jewish Family Services of Delaware (JFS): Case Management to Help Fragile Clients in Mental Health Therapy Succeed.
- National Association of Social Workers Delaware (NASW-DE): Decreasing Disparities and Increasing Health Outcomes Through Provider-based Intervention.
Substance Use Disorder
- NorthEast Treatment Centers, Inc.: Enhancing Post-Treatment Services program with the NETWorks Recovery Support Center.
- TRIAD Addiction Recovery Services: TRIAD was awarded funding to staff a clinical counselor.
Maternal and Child Health
- Planned Parenthood of Delaware (PPDE): Maternal and child health program to support comprehensive reproductive health services and promote positive birth outcomes by addressing social determinants of health.
- Michael's School and Nursery: St. Michael's Mindfulness Program to Address Social and Emotional Needs of Young Children.
- The Life Health Center (LHC): TLHC Maternal & Child Health Program.
Access to Dental and Primary Care
- Ministry of Caring: Case Management Triage.
- Communities in Schools Delaware (CISDE): Equitable Responses for Adolescent Services and Education.
Food Justice
- Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League (MUWL): Achievement Matters Youth Agriculture Project.
Violence and Public Safety
- Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCADV): Domestic Violence - Community Health Worker Collaborative (DV-CHW) Project.
- Survivors of Abuse in Recovery Inc. (SOAR): Trauma Training for Mental Health Professionals to Help Sexual Abuse Victims in Underserved Communities.
- YWCA Delaware Inc: Sexual and Domestic Violence Medical Community Engagement Project.
Poverty, Employment and Economic Opportunity
- Central Baptist Community Development Corporation (CBC-DC): Eastside Rising Workforce Development.
- True Access Capital: Community Up!
- UrbanPromise Wilmington: StreetLeader Job Training Program-Academic Initiative.
- West End Neighborhood House: Bright Spot Farm Young Farmers Program (also food justice).
- Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council, Inc. (DCRAC): The Money School.
- Project New Start Inc.: New Start Reentry Program.
Education
- Brandywine Social Club: Sustaining Quality of Life.
- Rodel Foundation: Child Development and Community Birthday Celebrations.
Social Determinants of Health and Other Programs
- Latin American Community Center (LACC): Community Health Program.
- Literacy Delaware: Health Literacy Programming.
- Lori's Hands: Enhancing Program Evaluation and Strengthening SDOH Training.
- Neighborhood House, Inc: Neighborhood House 2020 Vision.
- Philanthropy Delaware: Share Delaware - Phase Two.
- HepAware: Creating HepAware Multi-Media Presence to Expand Statewide Access to Hepatitis Care and Education.
The application process for next year's funding will open in June 2020.
By Peter Osborne
posborne@delawarebusinesstimes.com
