WomenConnected

Sharing the joy of giving…

WomenConnected is a philanthropic women’s giving circle within the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Foundation where women have the opportunity to combine their charitable contributions and as a group, manage and grant funds to Sarah Bush Lincoln programs and services.

There are two levels of membership. Women donate annual gifts of $500 or $1,000. Membership contributions are pooled together with 75 percent used to provide grants, the other 25 percent into a temporarily restricted endowment that can be used if a specific need arises at Sarah Bush Lincoln. Some SBL programs and services funded include cardiovascular screenings, nursing education, nutrition counseling for overweight children and diabetes programs. Since its inception in 2003, WomenConnected has granted more than $800,000 to SBL.

The group most recently awarded grants to programs including Peace Meal, SBL Dental Services, Healthy Communities, Center for Healthy Living, The Heart Center, Healthy Communities, Regional Cancer Center, Diagnostic Imaging and SBL Psychiatry & Counseling. The awards will be available in fiscal year ‘22.

The awards include:

Peace Meal
$10,000.00
Each meal provided to a PM client now costs over $10. This includes food, preparation and delivery, costs for assessment, outreach and education and administrative costs of tracking meals and reporting. About 40% of funds needed is provided through state and federal grants. Another 20% is raised through voluntary $3.50 contributions from clients, but average donation is $2 per meal. The remaining 40% needed to operate is raised through private donors, including WomenConnected. This grant would provide home delivered meals to 1,500 clients and 500 others at congregate sites. Peace Meal operates on a $300,000 deficit, subsidized by SBLHC.

SBL Dental Services
$30,000 to help provide restorative dental care to 245 children
$4,311 for oral hygiene kits for 4,000 children.

Center for Healthy Living Scholarships
$5,280
Since 2014, the CFHL has offered the medical exercise program, a 120-day program in which participants receive a custom-designed exercise and lifestyle program to help achieve goals and manage chronic illness. Program includes fitness testing, individualized and supervised exercise program and is open to the community with a provider-signed referral. In addition, a wellness and weight loss program is available. This program comes with the same services as the medical exercise program but also includes weekly health coaching sessions and appointments with a dietician.  Grant would fund scholarships to assist with costs of medical exercise or weight loss program prescribed by provider. Eligible participants fall below the Federal Poverty Guidelines. With scholarship assistance, the cost for the patient is reduced. *Scholarships would not be available without WomenConnected funding.

CHF Home Monitoring
$800.00
To provide scales to patients who are newly diagnosed or admitted with congestive heart failure to ensure they are monitoring their weight daily. Daily monitoring will help them identify when they have a sudden weight increase so they may be proactively treated and hopefully avoid readmission. Scales would be provided only to patients who cannot afford to purchase one. Though scales have been provided to outpatients through the cardiology clinic, this will be create a new program to allow a more consistent approach to inpatients as they are being discharged. Scales are tracked and will not be re-issued to those patients who have already received one through a WomenConnected grant. *only available with WomenConnected or other donor funds

Blood Pressure Cuffs/Monitors
$2,884.00
100 patients
To provide accurate monitors for up to 100 low-income patients to safely monitor blood pressure and heart rate, particularly during times of medication alterations. The Heart Center encounters 2-3 patients per month who cannot purchase their own. Cost is $28.84 each. *only available with WomenConnected or other donor funds

Outpatient Behavioral Health Counseling and Resource Fund
$600 SBL OP counseling staff serves some 800 unduplicated clients of all ages, annually, by providing mental health assessment, individual and/or family therapy and follow-up care, as well as occasional presentations for SBL staff as well as for area businesses contracted through our Employee Assistance Program. Topics include depression, anxiety, bipolar illness, personality and psychotic disorders, etc. Grant funds would be used to purchase resources such as workbooks, therapeutic games, etc. for counselors to use with patients on an as needed bases to enhance counseling sessions. Items would include: Art therapy exercises to manage depression and PTSD, Anger management games, ADHD workbooks, couples therapy workbooks, Trauma Survivors book and reaction cards, books for grieving and book to encourage disclosure of abuse. Items will be purchased by the mental health clinic specialist. Use of these items in counseling sessions would reinforce concepts presented in therapy via visual aids and improve communication between clients, their families, school or workplace and community at large. BHS anticipates using these items with a significant percent of the 700 individuals served. *only available with WomenConnected or other donor funds

Healthy Communities – Zones of Regulation Equipment
$1,000 Exercise equipment  to provide strategies to help up to 400 children deal with emotions and understand how their actions impact others.

WomenConnected members also agreed to give $10,000 from its endowment to help support the construction of the SBL Bonutti Clinic in Effingham.

WomenConnected meets six times per year with three of those being a members-only “Lunch with the CEO” with SBL President & CEO Kim Uphoff.

If you would like to learn more about WomenConnected or to join, please contact Amy Card in the SBL Health Foundation at 217/ 258-2511.

MEMBERS

**This item is made possible by a grant from WomenConnected, the women's giving circle within the SBL Health Foundation.