CMH awards $194,147 in ToRCH grants to community partners
Citizens Memorial Hospital has awarded $194,147 in grants to 10 community partners to address social needs in Polk County.
The grants are part of CMH’s participation in a pilot project with Missouri HealthNet, which runs Missouri’s Medicaid program. CMH is one of six rural Missouri hospitals participating in a five-year pilot project called the Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH).
A local ToRCH Leadership Board includes members from the hospital, primary care, behavioral health, public health, community-based organizations and advocacy groups for seniors and children. Community partners submitted funding applications. The board selected funding recipients from the applications.
“Research shows that many factors influence a person’s health. Housing, transportation and food insecurity are just a few,” said Jenna Hicks, director of quality and population health at CMH. “We know that improving these health factors will improve health and wellness in our community. Ultimately, we can reduce avoidable emergency room visits and improve population health for Medicaid patients, which is the ToRCH program’s goal.”
Grants
Organizations applying for and receiving the grants are:
- Bolivar R-1 School District, $20,000: Bolivar Schools will offer counseling and behavioral health therapy services for uninsured/underinsured youth who may not otherwise have access to care. Services will be available on-site during school hours through CMH behavioral health staff. The focus will be on children who are eligible for Medicaid but not currently enrolled, with partnership support to provide Medicaid enrollment assistance to parents.
- Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation, $20,000: Kitchen renovations at the CMH Administrative Center will increase CMH’s capacity to provide medically tailored, home-delivered meals to individuals with food and transportation insecurity.
- Community Outreach Ministries (COM), $20,000: COM exists to end food insecurity in Polk County and to empower those living in poverty. With this grant, COM will add staff and equipment to directly assist unsheltered residents in accessing needed housing resources.
- Polk County Community Connections, $17,884: The summer lunch program will be expanded to include Morrisville and Fair Play to increase food access for children living in these rural areas. The program provides free lunches to children ages 1-18 while school is out in July and August. Bolivar, Humansville and Pleasant Hope already have the program.
- Empower: Abilities, $20,000: The organization’s mission is to empower people with disabilities to live independently in the community. The grant will expand its capacity to provide home modifications for people with disabilities in Polk County.
- Polk County KLIFE, $20,000: KLIFE is a community-wide Christian ministry for youth and their families. KLIFE will use the grant to expand its youth-based services to increase access to children with transportation insecurity in Fair Play.
- Polk County Health Center (PCHC), $16,262.70: PCHC is the county’s public health agency. The PCHC will use the grant to expand its capacity to meet community needs for nutrition counseling and classes.
- Polk County Cares (PCC), $20,000: PCC addresses issues of addiction, at-risk youth, crime and homelessness. The PCC Warming Center in Bolivar provides a warm shelter for the homeless to stay on cold nights. The grant will allow PCC to expand the warming center’s capacity and ongoing services to the community.
- Refuge Apostolic Church, $20,000: The Bolivar church will use the grant money to renovate its space to provide a Celebrate Recovery group setting.
- Sling N Stones Ministries, $20,000: Sling N Stones provides hope and healing to those struggling with addiction and other life-controlling issues. The grant will fund two additional cabins for those in need of sober living facilities and recovery support.
“These grants are just the beginning of the impact the ToRCH program will have for Polk County residents,” Hicks said. “Grant funds are available to community partners participating in the ToRCH program for three more years. The pilot program is a valuable community asset, and the ToRCH Leadership Board is excited to maximize the funding’s impact to benefit population health.”
For more information about the ToRCH program, contact Hicks at 417-328-7953.