The five hospitals of Samaritan Health Services have awarded a total of $624,960 in Social Accountability grants to local service organizations, to be distributed over the next 12 months.
Social Accountability grants are awarded within Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. Funding decisions are made by committees consisting of employees and board members at each Samaritan-affiliated hospital. Funded programs address unmet needs of underserved populations and improve overall community health.
Social Accountability grants are part of the larger Samaritan Community Benefit program, which encompasses the organization’s efforts to build healthier communities by providing direct and in-kind support for services such as health screenings, health professions education, health research and community health activities.
Community Benefit also encompasses the charity care that Samaritan provides to low-income patients. In 2016, Samaritan invested more than $133 million in community benefit activities and services.
To be eligible for funding, programs must: focus on unmet needs in underserved populations; be collaborative, involving partnerships with other organizations; focus on improving the health status in the community; use quality indicators to measure progress and outcomes, reporting results and sharing them widely to attract more resources; plan for self-sufficiency, where appropriate; and operate efficiently, ideally with an administrative overhead of 15 percent or less.
In Linn County, the 2017 Social Accountability grants were awarded to: ABC House; Boys & Girls Club of Albany; Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Santiam; C.H.A.N.C.E.; Family Tree Relief Nursery; Fish of Albany; Fish of Lebanon; Jackson Street Youth Services; Lebanon Basic Services; Linn Together; Meals on Wheels; Pregnancy Alternatives Center; Retired Senior Volunteer Program; St. Vincent de Paul; Sweet Home Emergency Ministries (SHEM); Sweet Home Pregnancy Care Center; and Volunteer Caregivers.
For more about Samaritan’s community benefit activities, visit samhealth.org/CommunityBenefit.