116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Mercy awards over $150K to promote health equity
The Cedar Rapids medical center makes grants to 8 nonprofits
Jul. 26, 2023 6:00 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — Mercy Medical Center announced it will award more than $150,000 in grants to eight Cedar Rapids nonprofits to help address food insecurity, affordable housing, and mental health care access.
One of those grants, to Area Ambulance and Linn County Mental Health Access Center, awarded $20,000 to provide transportation to the county’s mental health care access center.
Erin Foster, director of the Linn County Mental Health Access, said the funds will help increase the number of referrals from law enforcement and emergency medical services for mental health services at the center.
Foster said the center has not seen the amount of referrals from law enforcement that it had hoped for in recent years. She said that many patients don’t want to ride with law enforcement to the center, and there is no system currently to bill insurance coverage for the transport.
This can lead to many patients ending up in hospitals’ emergency rooms, rather than the access center, which can lead to patients not getting the proper care, Foster said.
“It's all about matching individuals to the right level of care, and the right thing that they need in the moment,” Foster said.
Seven other area organizations received funding from the most recent round of awards from the medical center’s Health Equity fund.
Melissa Dean, director of Health Equity at Mercy Medical Center, said the funds are dedicated to helping local community members reach their health goals despite social class or other societal limitations.
“Mercy recognizes the significant downstream influence of community conditions on an individual’s health,” she said. “To advance health equity, we are pleased to support and partner with these local organizations that are engaging in strategies to address the root causes of poor health.”
Mercy received 31 applications for funding, and eight were awarded in this grant announcement. Others included:
- NewBo City Market received $25,000 to promote and cultivate health foods available for sale at the market.
- Hawkeye Area Community Action Program’s food reservoir, a local nonprofit focused on providing food to Corridor residents, received $20,000.
- Feed Iowa First, a local nonprofit focused on addressing food insecurity by supporting local farmers, received $20,000.
- Horizons, a local nonprofit focused on providing nutrition and support to the Corridor senior’s, received $20,000.
- The Cedar Rapids office of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, a local religious nonprofit, received $20,000.
- Arc of East Central Iowa, a local nonprofit focused on behavioral health and advocacy, received $20,000.
- Iowa Legal Aid’s Cedar Rapids office, a local nonprofit focused on providing legal advice and assistance to local residents, received $12,500 to provide legal advice and represent Linn County residents facing eviction and to help staff their help desk at the Linn County Courthouse.
The Health Equity fund was created in 2022 to give money to local nonprofits focused on advancing health equity goals. The fund awarded $157,000 this year with a total of over $300,000 given since its inception last year.
Comments: liam.halawith@thegazette.com
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