Donor Impact On
Charity Care Services
Mercy’s mission to care for the poor and vulnerable is fulfilled thanks to generous donors, grantors, and public partners who help the hospital provide Charity Care in the form of free or reduced-cost services and programs for marginalized patients.
Assisting Patients in Poverty
Corporate Partners, foundations, and individual donors often choose to provide annual support of the hospital’s greatest needs, such as offering assistance to less fortunate patients as part of our Charity Care.
Frank Palmer is Former Executive Vice President of Whiting-Turner, a company that has undertaken many of the hospital’s construction projects. As one of Mercy’s Corporate Partners, he says, “Throughout my 43 years of building healthcare projects across the country, no organization I’ve worked with comes close to the values and culture that exists at Mercy…”
~ Frank Palmer, Former Executive Vice President at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Caring for the community is multifaceted. Dr. Andrea Limpuangthip, Medical Director of Quality and Patient Safety at Mercy, states: “A person’s long-term health depends on many factors—access to timely health check-ups and the right diagnostic tools, a nutritious diet and physical exercise, a safe home environment and family support—it’s all connected.”
Many patients do not have insurance, or cannot afford copays and over-the-counter medications, so in Fiscal Year 2022, Mercy’s grant-funded Prescription for Health Program provided 47,974 medications to patients in need before they left the hospital.
“Monetary donations allowed Mercy to offer hundreds of pieces of at-home medical equipment such as walkers, nebulizers, oxygen tanks, blood pressure cuffs, and the like to indigent seniors,” says Sally Ratcliffe, Mercy’s Director of Social Work.
“Generous donors make such a difference to our cancer patients,” says Stacey King, Patient Resource Navigator at Mercy’s Institute for Cancer Care. “They help us provide transportation assistance to and from chemotherapy treatments. They also enable us to fit patients with wigs, head coverings, and support garments.”
Meeting Basic Needs for Better Health
Mercy is able to offer supplies and wraparound support thanks to donors who understand that meeting basic needs translates into better health outcomes.
Senior Director of Quality Assurance Conor Sullivan says, “Mercy’s Harvest Rx Program helps low-income patients obtain fresh fruits and vegetables at discounted prices from our partners at Hungry Harvest. We frequently host Harvest markets on the hospital’s campus, and we also connect our chronically ill patients to a free one-month subscription of produce delivered to their homes. Philanthropic partners literally help put healthy food on the table.”
Tamika Missouri, Manager of the Mother-Baby Unit, says: “Corporate Partners’ funding helps to train our nurses to become Certified Lactation Consultants who assist and advise mothers about their breastfeeding experiences. Donations allow Mercy to purchase wearable sleepsacks, car seats, breast pumps, and pack-n-play cribs for families that cannot afford them.”
Empowering patients to manage their health and safety can result in fewer trips to the hospital. Each day, Mercy’s Social Work department refers patients in need to community resources for shelter, food banks, legal aid, financial assistance, and behavioral health services.
When it comes to assisting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, the health care setting offers a unique opportunity to intervene in abusive situations.
Focusing on Total Wellness
When considering how to make people well, Mercy also takes into account a person’s spiritual and emotional health—and philanthropy is instrumental to what we can achieve.
“We are extremely grateful to sponsors of enrichment activities for the senior residents at Stella Maris,” says Keri Hook, Director of Programs and Activities. “It’s wonderful to see their faces light up when we have musical guests. I love watching them laugh as they make arts and crafts. It’s the little things that make a big difference in someone’s day.”
Maureen Klein, Nurse Manager of Outpatient Infusion Centers at Mercy’s Institute for Cancer Care, says, “Some of our patients come to us during the most vulnerable moments in their lives—and we are able to make them feel uniquely welcomed and cared for thanks to our funders. Therapeutic Art, Therapeutic Music, and Pets on Wheels visits are part of our holistic approach to a person’s well-being.”
In Fiscal Year 2022, Mercy offered more than $22 million in Charity Care and ran dozens of patient-assistance programs, thanks in large part to our donors.
“Some of our patients come to us during the most vulnerable moments in their lives—and we are able to make them feel uniquely welcomed and cared for thanks to our funders.”
