Arroyo Grande Awards $29,943 to Community Non-Profits

The local media are invited to attend a photo opportunity at Arroyo Grande Community Hospital (AGCH) when the hospital will award $29,943 in grant funding to six community non-profit organizations. These grants will help provide critical health and human services to residents of San Luis Obispo County.

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What         

AGCH will award $29,943 in grant funding to six community non-profit organizations at a breakfast presentation.

Where

The photo opportunity will take place in AGCH’s Executive Boardroom.

When    

The photo opportunity will take place January 28, 2013, with breakfast beginning at 9 a.m. and check presentations beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Why

The intent of the annual community grant program is to help non-profit organizations with an interest in building healthier communities by improving health and living conditions. Criteria for this funding cycle were based on priority areas identified in the MRMC Community Benefits Plan and Community Health Assessment. Priority areas include access to health care/insurance, ER utilization, chronic disease, cultural awareness, mental health, transportation and oral health.

This year, the AGCH Community Grants will be awarded to the following local organizations:

• Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access, Inc. ($5,000) will expand its model of providing prescription medications for chronic medical conditions to the uninsured, under-insured, seniors, low income and other disenfranchised in the Five Cities area.  APA is now able to offer the APA Diabetes Supplies Program which offers free and discounted diabetes supplies.  

• Five Cities Meals on Wheels ($5,000) Delivers meals to residents with extremely compromised health who cannot furnish their own meals. Many are in single person households and others are in difficult financial circumstances. Some clients need service for a prolonged period of time while others require short-term assistance with meals.

• SLO County AIDS Support Network ($3,943) Funding will provide for continued support to the most medically and financially fragile members of our community and outreach will expand to education and testing to "baby boomers" due to the most recent Centers for Disease Control hepatitis C testing recommendations.

• SLO Noor Foundation ($10,000) Provides uninsured men and women (ages 16-64) throughout SLO County with a medical "home" where the focus is on early detection and treatment, and can serve as a portal for other needed services.

• Women’s Shelter Program of SLO County ($2,000) Funding will resolve transportation barriers for Latina victims living in geographically isolated regions of southern San Luis Obispo County by providing needed gas cards and/or bus passes to allow them to access mental health counseling services at the agency's San Luis Obispo and Grover Beach counseling centers.

• Transitions – Mental Health Association’s ($4,000) SLO Hotline is a 24 hour free and confidential call center serving the entire county of SLO.  Staffed by compassionate and highly-trained volunteers and employees, SLO Hotline is devoted to calls that are categorized as suicide prevention, mental health crisis management, support, information, referral, education and stigma elimination being the new component for SLO Hotline.

Contact

If any members of the media would like to attend the photo opportunity, please contact Jessa Brooks at 805.739.3594.

About Arroyo Grande Community Hospital

 Located in Arroyo Grande, California, Arroyo Grande Community Hospital is an award winning 67-bed acute care facility. Arroyo’s joint program has earned honors and distinctions from Blue Shield and its Emergency Department is nationally acclaimed for quality and excellence for patient satisfaction. AGCH has the only comprehensive Acute Rehabilitation Center on the Central Coast. AGCH is a Dignity Health member of the Central Coast, which also includes French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA and Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, CA. Dignity Health of the Central Coast is recognized for the highest quality hospitals, physicians from the top medical schools in the country, primary care offices to ensure access for all patients, premier ambulatory surgery centers, technologically advanced imaging centers, outpatient services and a comprehensive home health service; all recognized for quality, safety and service. Each hospital is supported by an active philanthropic Foundation to provide additional funding to support new programs and services, as well as to advance the community’s access to health care.