THREE-YEAR GRANT TO FUND HEARTFELT CARE FOR AREA HOMELESS

Quantum Foundation announces $150,000 grant to Healthcare for the Homeless project

Quantum Foundations staff members Joe Paskoski and Randy Scheid with Quantum Foundation Grants Committee Member Peter Ellwell, VNA Nurse Practitioner Nicolette Christie, and Bernadette Macy of Catholic Charities – visiting the examination room onboard the big blue bus where the homeless receive free care.

(WEST PALM BEACH — ) Thanks to another $150,000 grant from Quantum Foundation, Catholic Charities’ Healthcare for the Homeless project will continue to provide personnel and supplies to address unmet health services for Palm Beach County’s estimated 1,500 homeless people. The grant will be made over the next three years, according to Randy Scheid, Quantum Foundation senior program officer.

Catholic Charities’ Healthcare for the Homeless was created in 2013 with a $50,000 start up grant from Quantum Foundation. The project provided direct medical services, navigation of the healthcare system and referral services to more 500 individuals in its first year.

Since that first year produced such great results, Quantum Foundation recently renewed the grant for an additional $150,000 to continue providing the personnel and supplies the project needs for the next three years. Quantum Foundation is the county’s largest health funder with 100% of funding dollars allocated for the local community.  The Foundation seeks bold and innovative projects in pursuit of its mission, which is for all the people in the county to enjoy better life through quality health.

To provide care and to address the added health complications associated with homelessness, Catholic Charities works with numerous partners to provide a safety net specifically for the homeless. The project works with the following agencies to provide services: the system of free clinics in the county to provide health services; the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) to have a mobile medical unit (affectionately called “the Big Blue Bus”) at various sites each month; a nurse practitioner at St. Ann Place Homeless Outreach Center; the Center for Family Services Pat Reeves Village in West Palm Beach, which specifically serves the homeless and homeless families; and other nonprofits and community groups. At one specific site, the VNA bus waits outside a daily feeding program for the homeless where hot meals are served twice a day with support from the Palm Beach County Food Bank.

“When one of Palm Beach County’s greatest social concerns is homelessness, we love to see this kind of connectivity in the health system,” said Scheid. “It’s one of the ways we’ve identified that can make a real impact on community health. Catholic Charities is a great grantee that has managed to coordinate and work with many groups, regardless of their denomination, all in the service of helping some of the county’s neediest people – the homeless.”

Once on board the bus, homeless clients meet with a nurse practitioner who helps them with many health issues and provides free health exams, written prescriptions, education on where best to fill a prescription, a clear action plan for care, an explanation of risks to their health and how to reduce them, assistance with the Health Care District (HCD) application process, and help finding a “medical home” where they can consistently see a primary care physician. If a client needs help getting to an appointment, bus passes are provided to them when available.

“No day is the same,” noted Bernadette Macy, Program Administrator for the Interfaith Health and Wellness Program at Catholic Charities. “Sometimes, we see regular clients at the same site each month but every day there are new people, new stories. Often, our clients here need wound care; they need help getting their prescriptions for diabetes or hypertension. We never know who is going to visit us on the bus but the need is great.”

Macy says the homeless community is especially overwhelmed by the need for dental services, from cleanings, to fillings and even reconstructive care for young patients. “We know a young man here who has never been to a dentist in his life,” said Macy. “He needs to see one and get some encouragement to make his dental health a part of his game plan for life.”

Dentists, dental hygienists, nurses or other medical professionals willing to see patients pro bono or donate dental supplies or equipment should call Bernadette Macy, 561-345-2000 x256.

Quantum Foundation is a private grantmaking organization that funds approved charities and certain government agencies serving Palm Beach County, Florida. The Foundation’s funding supports those organizations which provide health care, help people who need health care, and educate others about health care. According to the latest data compiled by the Florida Philanthropic Network (FPN), Quantum Foundation is the largest Palm Beach County-based health funder with 100% of grant dollars used to support local communities.

For more information on the work of Quantum Foundation, please visit the organization’s website at ,