Community Benefit gives $120,000-plus to mental health and substance misuse programs

April 19, 2021 -- In the first of two grant cycles this year, Reid Health Community Benefit is giving more than $120,000 to 19 local organizations.

The first cycle of 2021 was focused on Mental Health & Substance Misuse, with $129,342 being awarded to a mix of nonprofits, schools and governmental entities.

Requests were evaluated based on their ability to impact the number of adults who smoke, the death rate due to drug poisoning, mothers who smoke during pregnancy, age-adjusted death rate due to suicide, child abuse rate, non-fatal emergency visits due to opioid overdose, and poor mental health average number of days.

Applications for the second cycle -- Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Weight -- are open until May 20. Those will be evaluated based on their ability to impact access to exercise opportunities, adults age 20 and older who are obese, adults 20 and older who are sedentary, child food insecurity rate, and food insecurity rate.

The awards for the first cycle include:

• $11,250 to Birth to Five to support the Healthy Families program.
• $11,250 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County for its Prevention Plus programming.
• $3,750 to Brighter Path to provide scholarship opportunities for children and adults with disabilities for the therapeutic benefits of equine therapy.
• $5,250 to Children's Advocacy Center of Randolph County for body safety education for students and adults in all Randolph County schools.
• $5,090 to Genesis of Richmond to support group-based programming.
• $5,000 to Independent Living Center of Eastern Indiana for supplies and administrative costs for the local ramp program.
• $10,875 to JACY House to support personnel costs and program materials for MBF Prevention Education programs in Reid's service area.
• $2,000 to Love Makes Cents/NATCO Empowerment Center for the implementation of Your Financial Future, a program designed to teach individuals ages 16-30 basic financial skills.
• $1,300 to Monroe Central Schools for a Sensory Pathway in the halls for Randolph County fourth-sixth-grade students to support social and emotional learning as part of the student environment.
• $2,900 to Northeastern Elementary School for the development of a sensory room to assist with brain breaks, self-regulation, and classroom re-entry to support the social and emotional learning environment.
• $7,500 to Preble County Arts Association for art workshops for first responders as a means of self-care and stress relief.
• $7,000 to Randolph Eastern School Corporation to expand the Leader in Me program to seventh and eighth grades.
• $7,500 to Servants at Work to build wooden ramps for those with financial need in Reid's service area.
• $2,500 to Senior Opportunity Services to provide individuals in Wayne County with homemaker services.
• $11,247 to The Journey Home to support staffing for the Harm Reduction Veterans Outreach Team.
• $12,480 to The Shepherd's Way (Cross Road Christian Recovery Center) to support implementation of the Wellness Action Recovery Plan for Addictions: Finding Freedom from Unwanted Patterns program.
• $9,200 to Wayne County Sheriff's Department for DARE programming for Nettle Creek, Western Wayne, Centerville-Abington, Seton Catholic and Northeastern Wayne schools.
• $11,250 to Whole Family Community Initiative to support the cost of an on-site counselor for the women participating in programming at The House of Ruth.
• $2,000 to YMCA of Darke County for the Physical Training for Change (PT4C) program that works with adults on probation for drug-related charges to infuse healthy activity as an outlet.

Community benefit is the basis of the tax-exempt status of not-for-profit hospitals. Community benefit is defined as programs or activities that improve access to health services, enhance public health, advance health knowledge through research and education, and/or relieve the burden of government to improve health.

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act added new requirements for tax-exempt hospitals in the areas of community health needs assessment (CHNA), implementation strategy, billing and collections, and reporting. In 2014, the IRS issued final rules implementing these requirements. The goals of these provisions are to ensure tax-exempt hospitals are meeting the health needs of their communities and to ensure greater transparency and accountability.

Grants, along with other specific outreach and requirements to meet Reid Health's not-for-profit status, have put more than $179 million back into the community in the past five years. A committee of Reid's governing board and community members reviews grant requests. The grants are awarded as part of the health system's efforts as a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization.