Bay Area Hospital release – Coos Bay, June 4, 2019: Bay Area Hospital Community Foundation recently awarded $413,575 to local non-profits and organizations. The award ceremony marked the Community Grant program’s tenth year. Over the past decade, the foundation has given more than $3.5 million in grants to organizations working in collaborative and innovative ways to improve health and quality of life on the south coast. “As the largest employer on the South Coast, we believe in giving back to the community, and that’s why we do the grant program,” Barbara Bauder, Bay Area Hospital’s Chief Development Officer says. This year, for the first time, preference was given to projects that address needs identified in the Coos County Community Health Assessment (CHA). The hospital helps develop the CHA through a collaborative effort with community stakeholders, collecting and analyzing local data in an effort to determine the health status and needs of our community. Bay Area Hospital CEO Brian Moore says that a community’s health is determined by much more that its healthcare system. Socioeconomic factors; physical environment; and individuals’ lifestyle, diet, and exercise choices are major drivers of health. “In terms of our mission, to be a part of improving the health of our community every day, we recognize that we’re going to have to go after some of the big driving factors of health,” Moore says. “Bay Area Hospital does have some programs and activities that get outside of just hospital work, but the bulk of that work is done by partners in our community.” The thirty-one local partners selected as this year’s grant recipients are doing impressive work, like encouraging healthy lifestyles by providing free swim lessons to elementary school students, lessening socio-economic disparities by providing transitional housing to homeless families, and improving public safety by purchasing emergency/disaster supplies for an easily isolated area of town. By sharpening the focus of the Community Grant Program, Bay Area Hospital hopes to better address our community’s specific needs. The deadline to apply for next year’s grant cycle is March 1, 2020. Applications are available at www.bayareahospital.org. 2019 BAH Community Foundation Grant Recipients – Bob Belloni Ranch, Inc.; Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon; Charleston Salmon Run; Community Presbyterian Church; Coos Bay Area Zonta Service Foundation; Coos Bay North Bend Rotary; Coos Bay Public Library; Coos Bay School Foundation; Coos Cares; Coos County Area Transit District; Coos County CERT; Coos County Friends of Public Health; Coos County Sheriff’s Office; Emmanuel Episcopal Preschool; Growing Together; Habitat for Humanity; Healing Sounds Project/Seven Fires Foundation.
