St. Vincent Healthcare Grants awarded for 2017

November 2, 2017

41 area programs receive $62,199.00
November 2, 2017, Worcester, Mass.— During the month of October, 41 programs received St. Vincent Healthcare Grants for 2017 totaling $62,199. The Fund is under the oversight of the Diocese of Worcester. Since it began awarding grants in 1999, it has distributed over $1 million, averaging over $55,000 per year. According to Bishop Robert McManus “The Diocese of Worcester is committed to continuing the mission of the St. Vincent Development Foundation which raised the initial funds to provide for medical and healthcare assistance in the community in keeping with the Catholic mission of the hospital’s founders, the Sisters of Providence.”
            This year’s recipients include Alternatives Unlimited: Adaptive Equipment Solutions; Alzheimer’s Association: Connecting Caregivers, Alzheimer’s Education and Outreach; Athol Hospital: Meeting Rural Health Needs of our Most Vulnerable Populations; Auburn Senior Center: Rides For Health; Blessed Sacrament Parish: Opioids, Alcohol, Teenagers and Spirituality Program; Carenet Pregnancy Resource: Let the Little Children Come; Cathedral of St. Paul: St. Paul’s Elder Outreach; Catholic Charities programs in Leominster, Southbridge, Milford, and Worcester: “Healthy Babies, Brighter Futures” Diaper Program; Children’s Friend: The Carriage House Grief Support Center; Dismas House: Restorative Healthcare Initiative; Friends of the North Brookfield Senior Center: Senior Medical Rides; Healing Garden: Expressive Arts Therapy; Holy Family Academy: School Nurse Subsidy; Mary Queen of the Rosary: Parish Healthcare Program as well as their Outreach Ministry.
            Grants were also awarded to McAuley Nazareth: Psychotherapeutic Drug Reduction through Homeopathic Therapies; Ministry to the Retired Priests: Healthcare of Retired Priests; North American Martyrs Parish: Defibrillators in Church and Parish Hall; Notre Dame Health Care: “Improving End of Life Outcomes for Your Patients” Seminar; Our Lady of the Angels School: School Health Office; Pastoral Counseling Centers of MA: Inc.; The Assistance Fund; Pernet Family Health Service, Inc.: Maternal Child Home Visits; Problem Pregnancy of Worcester: Ultrasound Project; Respect Life Office, Diocese of Worcester: Medical Ethics Conference; RSVP-Worcester Area Volunteers: Senior Fraud Help Line; Saint Mary Health Care: Music for Seniors; Saint Mary’s Schools in Worcester: Health and Safety Program; Saint Peter-Marian Jr/Sr High School: New Athletic Cart; Saint Mary School Shrewsbury: Basic Life Support Training for Teachers and Staff; Spanish American Center, Inc.: Food Pantry Nutrition Education Project; St. Anne Free Medical Program: Health Advancement Project; Tri-Valley, Inc: Healthy Aging; Veterans Inc.: Independence Hall Treatment Center; Visitation House: Healthy Moms and Babies; VNA Care Network and Hospice: Worcester Elder Health Clinics; Witness for Life Committee: St. Joseph Initiative; Worcester Converging Roads Planning Committee: Converging Roads Medical Ethics Conference; YWCA Central Massachusetts: ENCORE ABC (After Breast Cancer) Program.

About the St. Vincent Healthcare Fund
            The St. Vincent Healthcare Fund was announced in June 1998 and was started with $1.6 million which had been raised by the St. Vincent Development Foundation prior to the sale of the St. Vincent Hospital to OrNda Healthcorp in 1996. At that time the Foundation ceased its operation. During the oversight process by the Attorney General’s Office, it was determined that the funds that had been raised by the Foundation would be given to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester to support health care programs and services in the community which were in keeping with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Some of these funds were restricted to certain areas of use and, as such, grants are awarded in accordance with the original wishes of the donors and in accordance with the original mission of the Foundation, namely to provide financial and other assistance to nonprofit health care organizations to promote the scientific, literary, educational, public health,

public safety or civic purposes of such entities for the direct benefit of the residents of Worcester County; to work for the development of medical and health services by supporting and strengthening the services provided by nonprofit health care providers which provide services to Worcester County residents; to support nonprofit organizations which provide for the medical and other health care needs of residents of Worcester County; and to provide for the needs of Worcester County residents through the purchase of medical and other health care services or supplies.