Grants to aid Wishard Foundation's efforts to Help those Most in Need
Contact: Todd Harper
Phone: 317-630-7808
Pager: 317-310-5972
Two recent grants from affiliate funds of the Central Indiana Community Foundation will help Wishard Health Services fulfill its mission in providing superior public healthcare to the citizens of Marion County.
The Women's Fund of Central Indiana and the Indianapolis Retirement Home Fund, both CICF funds, awarded the Wishard Foundation grants totaling $35,000. The funds will be used to support Wishard’s Palliative Care Program and Women’s and Children’s Services.
"The Palliative Care Program at Wishard Health Services helps to relieve suffering for the most vulnerable patients facing end-of-life issues. The generosity of the Indianapolis Retirement Home Fund will allow Wishard caregivers to compassionately serve even more underserved and dying patients,” said James P. Wood, president and chief executive officer of the Wishard Foundation. "The Wishard Foundation is also grateful to the Women's Fund of Central Indiana, which has partnered with Wishard Health Services in providing a measure of comfort to women who have experienced the profound loss of losing a child."
The Indianapolis Retirement Home Fund recently provided a $25,000 grant to the Wishard Foundation for Wishard’s Palliative Care Program. The goal of the Palliative Care Program is to prevent and relieve pain for people who are dying. This includes not only the relief of severe physical symptoms, but also expert attention for psychological and spiritual distress experienced by both the patient and their loved ones.
Since its inception in 1999, the Palliative Care program has helped nearly 3,000 underserved and dying patients receive care with dignity and compassion. A grant from the Indianapolis Retirement Home Fund will enable Wishard to expand its Palliative Care services by serving more patients, seeing patients in broader settings (such as increased home visits), and providing additional care supplies such as quilts, fans, and other goods to increase comfort and home-like environment.
In addition, the Women's Fund of Central Indiana provided a $10,000 grant to the Wishard Foundation to assist in providing additional bereavement support for expectant mothers who experience an unexpected loss, such as a miscarriage, still birth, ectopic pregnancy or newborn death. The grant will allow the Women's and Children's Services at Wishard to provide intensive training for all staff members to increase their ability to provide compassionate and culturally sensitive bereavement. Ultimately, the department intends to hire a full-time bereavement nurse and provide advanced training for 10 staff nurses to receive certificates in bereavement care.
The Central Indiana Community Foundation is a $650 million public foundation that works to transform the lives of central Indiana residents in three ways: consulting with donors, family foundations and their professional advisors on charitable giving; awarding grants to effective not-for-profit organizations; and providing leadership to address community needs and priorities. CICF was established in 1997 as a partnership between The Indianapolis Foundation, serving Marion County since 1916, and Legacy Fund, serving Hamilton County since 1991.
The Wishard Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness that support healthcare initiatives benefiting residents of Marion County with special emphasis on its poor and vulnerable populations. The Foundation was established in 1985 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.