- Local partners to offer 31 sessions of Our HEALing Kitchen classes
- Healthy Tomorrow app adds discussion groups for at-risk mothers and babies
- Meet Board Member Mary Hess: Honored with 2022 Rosenberger Award
- St. Joseph Community Health Foundation supports the expansion of services for local Afghan refugees
- Healthy food for everyone: Fort Wayne organizations fight food insecurity with nutrition and equity
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- Supporting low-cost, nutritious eating - |
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Program spotlight:
Local partners to offer 31 sessions
of Our HEALing Kitchen classes
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The sixth season of Our HEALing Kitchen classes is now underway.
The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, in partnership with Parkview Health, recently awarded grants for local organizations to offer 31 sessions of the cooking and nutrition classes.
The local churches and non-profits will offer the classes to vulnerable residents, such as those living in homeless shelters, at-risk youth, individuals facing severe illness, those with disabilities, and people living in low-income neighborhoods.
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- Connecting professionals who care for moms and babies - |
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Grantee spotlight:
Healthy Tomorrow app adds discussion groups
for at-risk mothers and babies
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McMillen Health is now expanding its Healthy Tomorrow app for pregnant, or recently pregnant, women thanks to support from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation.
Healthy Tomorrow is a free app available through Apple and Google Play and was developed to support women with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and their infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Indiana’s rate of NAS is about 30% higher than the national average: 15.7% of all Indiana babies test positive for opioids, and opioid use rates continue to skyrocket.
The app offers short, educational video content to support pregnant and parenting women and their children. Topics include prenatal care, mental health, dental care, recovery planning, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), preparing for hospital outcomes, and more.
The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation recognized the need to create the app and offer ways for women to connect with one another in a safe, moderated format and for professionals to connect with these women...
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- Celebrating dedicated, compassionate service - |
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Foundation focus:
Meet Board Member Mary Hess:
Honored with 2022 Rosenberger Award
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Mary Hess, director of Health & Wellness for Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS), is the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Raymond Rosenberger – Minette Baum award.
The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation Board of Directors recently nominated Hess for her diligent and faithful service in improving the health of vulnerable populations.
Hess, a registered nurse, has served on the St. Joe Foundation Board of Directors for 12 years and has contributed to the Board’s and staff’s knowledge about public health. Because almost 65% of FWCS students live at 130% or below the federal poverty level, she has first-hand knowledge of the health challenges faced by many low-income students and their families. Additionally, Hess serves on the Board of the Allen County Department of Health and has a deep understanding of public health issues throughout the county.
Meg Distler, executive director of the St. Joe Foundation, applauds Hess for her leadership on numerous community non-profit boards and her commitment to providing equitable health services to all residents.
“Mary’s priority has always been on how best to serve our community, especially youth who are at-risk or come from low-income homes,” says Distler. “She works tirelessly to find ways to improve the health and well-being of all 30,000 FWCS students. Her dedication makes our entire community stronger and healthier.”
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- Helping refugees feel at home - |
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Foundation focus:
St. Joseph Community Health Foundation supports the expansion of services for local Afghan refugees
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Thanks to a more than $50,000 grant from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (CCFWSB) can expand legal services to help Afghan refugees who arrived in Fort Wayne last fall.
Due to the swift fall of the Afghan government and emergency evacuation, Afghans who fled at that time were not able to be processed through the normal refugee channels. As a result, they are...
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- Supporting low-cost, nutritious eating - |
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In the news:
Healthy food for everyone:
Fort Wayne organizations fight food insecurity
with nutrition and equity
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When you consider what items in a grocery store have the longest shelf life and the lowest cost, it's usually pasta, rice, canned and processed foods, or frozen foods.
These highly accessible grocery items are commonly donated in food drives and pantries serving individuals and families facing food insecurity. And while these foods can be part of a healthy diet, maintaining a diet with high concentrations of them can also contribute to health conditions and chronic illnesses.
These are some of the factors Fort Wayne leaders, like those at the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, are taking into consideration as they fight food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's not merely about making sure residents have access to food, but also making sure they have access to quality, fresh, nutritious foods that won't end up costing them and their communities more in the long run.
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- Connecting everyone in the community to critical health resources - |
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Community resource:
Order Free
Community Health
Resource Directories!
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A ministry sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.
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