Mercy Hospital Foundation

Programs: Mercy hospital foundation ("the foundation") provided $583,252 in funding in fiscal year 2017 to mercy hospital iowa city for facility improvements, medical equipment, patient comfort items, educational materials and programs, nursing and health career scholarships, artwork to enhance the hospital's healing environment, and support for specific areas including mercy hospice care, mental health services, diabetes education, cancer care services, mercy on call, nursing units, cardiovascular operating room, and more. Mercy hospice care and mercy's mental health services are receiving increased amounts of donor support due to the need for their services in southeast iowa. (schedule o)in addition to gifts that are designated for specific purposes in mercy hospice care, many gifts are made to the hospice endowment fund to ensure that care will continue to be available to anyone who needs it. The mental health endowment fund continues to grow and support the holistic and comprehensive inpatient behavioral health unit. Mercy's scholarship program continues to grow. In addition to providing renewable $1,000 health career scholarships to students graduating from high school in mercy's 10-county service area who plan to major in a health career in college, mercy also awards nursing scholarships to employees who are continuing their advanced nursing education. In 2017, 10 students received new health career scholarships while 24 received renewals during their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of study. To date mercy has awarded scholarships to students from 21 high schools in its service area over the past 15 years. Mercy also awarded a total of 45 nursing scholarships to 33 employees. The foundation continues to provide all of the educational materials used with the roughly 450 patients in the diabetes education program. A new program provides assistance to women who cannot afford diagnostic testing for breast cancer including mammograms, ultrasound and more, using gifts donated specifically for this purpose. The medical and other equipment supported by the foundation serves a general population of this hospital. In 2017 purchases included such diverse items as facilities and equipment support to relocate our 24 hour nurse triage and physician finder service as it expanded and needed additional staff and space; veinviewer machines for all nursing units, a total of 8, to help nurses find "good" veins in patients and reduce repeated needle sticks; stryker saws for the cardiovascular or; renovation of the short order and grill area of the cafeteria including lighting, flooring, hot/cool food prep and storage areas and more; 3d mammography equipment in radiology; and a superdimension electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy for the cardiovascular lab. Educational programs and materials, as well as patient comfort items, are directed by hospital staff to the appropriate patients including clothing and blankets, toys for pediatric patients, support items for cancer patients, therapeutic music services for patients in the mental/behavioral health unit, harmonicas for pulmonary support group members, art to invigorate patient and visitor areas and much more. ]