Nonprofit organizers, Mercy Hospital officials and other area stakeholders gathered at the hospital Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the region’s recipients of the 2022 and 2023 Health Equity & Advancement Fund grants, which included Manna Soup Kitchen, Community Compassion Outreach and the Southern Colorado Community Action Agency.
The Colorado-Kansas-Utah division of CommonSpirit, the nonprofit now running Mercy after the dissolution of Centura Health, awarded $5 million throughout the division this year, including over $500,000 in the Four Corners.
“Organizations were chosen based on filling a significant health gap … and then they were chosen (as such) that the work aligns with our community health needs assessment,” said Lexie Stetson-Lee, Mercy Health Foundation’s senior philanthropy officer. “Lastly, the fund really aimed to meet all levels – a diversity of power – big organizations and smaller organizations.”
This year’s recipients included Navajo Strong of Lehi, Utah, Southern Colorado Community Action Agency (Road Runner Transit) of Ignacio, The Partners in Integrated Care (PIC) Place in Montrose, and Cancer Support Community Southwest Colorado and Community Compassion Outreach in Durango.
The fund is intended to support local organizations that meet the mental health, food security, and social justice and health equity needs, CommonSpirit said in a news release.
Across the division, the organization dolled out $5 million in grants, of which $3 million was directed to advancing social justice and health equity, $1 million was directed to addressing food security and $1 million addressing mental health.
The tenor of the event turned tense for a moment, when Gretchen Groenke, representing two of the 2022 recipients, called out decision-makers in the room because she said she was “appalled” by the lack of diversity in the awardees.
“There (were) really, really, really important organizations in this community who didn’t get funded – organizations that are led by people of color, organizations that are led by immigrants, organizations that are doing work at such a deeper level,” Groenke said.
Stetson-Lee acknowledged the criticism and thanked Groenke for her feedback, noting “this is what makes us better.”
The mood returned to its celebratory tone shortly thereafter, as awardees acknowledged the need for the resources they had received.
“We feel like we’re being tested serving rural communities,” said Cancer Support Community SW Co-Executive Director Toni Abbey on Tuesday.
The organization facilitates access to various forms of cancer-related care in the area. It received $100,000 this year.
“We received this grant to provide community-based oncology nurse care navigation and guidance,” Abbey said.
Representatives of Road Runner Transit, a program of Southern Colorado Community Action Agency, said their grant has allowed them to leverage a “significant” amount of federal funding and also expand transportation services in underserved rural parts of the county.
Donna Mae Baukat, the co-founder and executive director of CCO, said last year’s $100,000 grant helped the organization buy a 12-passenger van, which meant staff and volunteers can shuttle houseless people around the region to access services.
This year, CCO was awarded $144,000.
“This has been a gift from heaven,” Baukat said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
