JERSEY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Results: The JCH Foundation was established as the charitable entity for the growth of the hospital's medical campus. And grow it did! The JCH Wellness Center was built in 1999 and houses a large lap pool, therapy pool, aerobics room, weight room, and offers physical therapy and massage therapy. Patrons' donations then led to the creation of a Memorial Garden on the hospital grounds, plus a dining patio, a new CT Scanner, and various other projects. In 2003, the JCH Foundation's funds assisted in the opening of the JCH Dialysis Center for local dialysis patients to receive such important daily treatment closer to the comforts of home. In 2006, the JCH Women's Center officially opened with the help of many generous donations and its 8000 sq. foot facitlity now sees more than 300 births a year. Currently, the JCH Foundation is underway a $1 million dollar capital campaign to enlarge, upgrade, and improve the JCH Emergency Room, a vital community asset. The JCH Foundation recently opened up the JCH Hope Chest Resale Shop which is entirely volunteer-run and donor-driven to raise funds for this important project. Over $35,000 was earned for the JCH Foundation in its first year with the Resale Shop, plus truckloads of unsellable donations of clothes and shoes were donated to the homeless and needy in the St. Louis area. The JCH Foundation also runs an annual Golf Tournament to earn funds for its Medical Scholarship Program to assist students obtaining a degree in the medical fields.

Target demographics: Located in Jerseyville, Illinois, Jersey Community Hospital serves the tri-county area of Jersey, Calhoun, and Greene County that covers a combined population of 43,000 and 1,200 rural square miles.

Direct beneficiaries per year: The JCH Foundations benefit those students who are awarded the Medical Scholarship Program and are pursuing a degree in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and various other medical careers. The JCH Resale Shop benefits the many families and individuals in the area who can shop for clothes, shoes, household items, and books in a clean, well-organized, inexpensive environment. The JCH Dialysis Center is a huge blessing to the hundreds of dialysis patients who don't have to drive hours to receive their daily exhausting treatment.