ChristianaCare launches the Community Investment Fund to address social, behavioral and environmental factors that impact health.

(Wilmington, DE. – Dec. 12, 2019)

ChristianaCare is investing nearly $2 million into the community to improve health through the ChristianaCare Community Investment Fund. The fund supports partnerships to build the community’s collective capacity to address social, behavioral and environmental factors that impact health.

“As we work to improve health for everyone — in all of the communities we serve — we recognize that we can’t do it alone,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and CEO of ChristianaCare. “There are so many organizations in our community that are providing important, effective services that help people to lead healthier lives. Through these investments, we can help them to sustain and grow these efforts, as we work together to make a positive impact on our community.”

As an anchor institution in the community, ChristianaCare is investing in community health improvement programs as a core component of its community benefit activities. This year’s 32 awardees will receive funding to support community health improvement initiatives focused on high-need communities.

“This is a commitment to the good health of our neighbors,” said Bettina Tweardy Riveros, chief health equity officer at ChristianaCare. “By partnering with these community organizations, we are aligning our resources to increase our effectiveness and impact in our community so all Delawareans can achieve their best health.”

The funded initiatives address a diverse array of health-related needs, including behavioral health, housing, food and workforce development.

“We have incredible partners in the community,” said Erin Booker, LPC, vice president of community health and engagement at ChristianaCare. “Each of these organizations is making a difference, tackling challenging issues and helping to lift up our neighbors who need help. We are privileged to work alongside them and provide them with support, so that together, we can build a healthier community.”

“ChristianaCare has shown their commitment to truly improving both individual and community health by working in partnership with community organizations to address both clinical and social needs,” said Reverend Terrence S. Keeling, president and CEO of Central Baptist Community Development Corporation. “We are happy that we have been chosen to partner with them on our shared goal, which is to ensure that every member of our community has the opportunity to experience their best health.”

“The work we are doing with ChristianaCare is the real meaning of healthy community,” said Pastor Lottie Lee Davis, executive director of Be Ready Community Development Corporation. “We will impact employment, housing, the elimination of blight, and most of all increase a sense of well-being.”

“The funding will support the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s collaborative Domestic Violence-Community Health Worker project, which connects victims of domestic violence with safety and health resources,” said Sue Ryan, executive director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Domestic violence impacts physical, emotional and financial health.  Offering victims of intimate partner violence the advocacy and health services they need is an investment in their safety and well-being.”

Recipients were selected based on the quality of their proposals and implementation plans, and on the alignment of their proposals with the key priorities of ChristianaCare’s Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Implementation Plan. The funded initiatives will be implemented throughout the upcoming year. The application process for next year’s funding will open in June 2020 and be available at christianacare.org/communityhealth.

The 32 inaugural Community Investment Fund recipients are:

• AIDS Delaware
• Be Ready Community Development Corporation
• Brandywine Social Club
• Central Baptist Community Development Corporation
• Communities in Schools Delaware
• Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Delaware College of Art and Design
• Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council, Inc.
• Family Counseling Center of St. Paul’s
• Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County
• HepAware
• Jewish Family Services of Delaware
• Latin American Community Center
• Literacy Delaware
• Lori’s Hands
• Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League
• Ministry of Caring
• National Association of Social Workers Delaware
• Neighborhood House, Inc.
• NorthEast Treatment Centers, Inc.
• Planned Parenthood of Delaware
• Philanthropy Delaware
• Project New Start, Inc.
• Rodel Foundation
• St. Michael’s School and Nursery
• Survivors of Abuse in Recovery, Inc.
• The Life Health Center
• TRIAD Addiction Recovery Services
• True Access Capital
• UrbanPromise Wilmington
• West End Neighborhood House
• YWCA Delaware Inc.

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About ChristianaCare

Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible and lowering health care costs. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,430 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute.

ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as the 2nd best health system for diversity and inclusion, and the 29th best health system to work for in the United States, and by IDG Computerworld as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work in IT. ChristianaCare is rated by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals and continually ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and other national quality ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.

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