04 Jan Quantum Foundation Invests More Than 1.5 Million In County’s Health
Mariana Blanco and Dr. Gerald O’Connor
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – The board of trustees of Quantum Foundation, under the chairmanship of Dr. Gerald O’Connor, recently approved 17 grants totaling $1.596 million to Palm Beach County-based nonprofits.
Quantum Foundation’s mission is to inspire and fund initiatives that improve the health of Palm Beach County residents. Quantum Foundation is a health foundation that was formed from $135 million in proceeds from the sale of JFK Medical Center. Now in its third decade of community investment, the foundation has assets of approximately $175 million. Since its inception, Quantum Foundation has awarded $160 million to hundreds of Palm Beach County nonprofit grantees. Every dollar the foundation grants stays in the county to benefit local communities.
“In terms of comprehensive healthcare and insurance, Florida is currently ranked as the 42nd state in the U.S.,” said Eric Kelly, president of Quantum Foundation. “However, geography won’t have the final say for residents here in Palm Beach County as we work toward health equity and preventing avoidable illnesses and mortalities. We are facing these issues head-on with local organizations who are working on the ground tirelessly for our at-risk neighbors.”
Of the grants allocated for the third and fourth quarters of 2021, $300,000 was distributed to the Guatemalan-Maya Center (GMC) in Lake Worth. The funds will help GMC in its work of providing education, health, cultural continuity, family preservation, and empowerment to migrants.
With Quantum Foundation funding, GMC will launch Clinica Maya to provide free healthcare to the immigrant, indigenous, and Latino populations of Lake Worth and increase access to healthcare for community members. GMC’s aim is to build a collaborative-care model and provide an evidence-based approach for integrating physical and behavioral health services to approximately 500 clients yearly. A nurse practitioner will be the clinic director, and they will also have rotating volunteers in various medical fields to meet their communities’ developing needs. The grant will also provide food to GMC clients, and while the monthly amount varies based on need, the nonprofit provided food to more than 4,000 people per month at the height of the pandemic. Financial support will underpin neighbor-to-neighbor distribution of food, which ensures that vulnerable residents don’t go hungry. The grant from Quantum Foundation gives GMC a chance to grow its impact in Palm Beach County and will continue to assist more than 1,000 families each month from 28 plus countries.
“I knew GMC’s founder, Father Frank O’Loughlin, after 37 years of treating him as my patient,” said Dr. O’Connor. “If he’s alive and moving, he’s trying to help people. For decades he has recognized the immediate needs of Guatemalan refugees and with this recent grant, Quantum Foundation is honored to support Father Frank once again in his work.”
Other grants funded by Quantum Foundation in the Q3 and Q4 grant cycles include:
211 – Elder Crisis Outreach ($100,000) Lantana, FL
With Quantum funding, the Elder Crisis Outreach (ECO) program at 211 will provide 600 Palm Beach County seniors, aged 60 and up, with free short-term case management and advocacy services, which are provided with the purpose of resolving the crisis situations that elders are particularly vulnerable to experiencing. Any senior at risk of a crisis event can receive assistance from ECO, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. There are no other programs that offer services as comprehensive as ECO, and this program fills a critical niche within the network of elder-serving health and human services programs. Seniors are more susceptible to society’s fluctuating demands than other populations, which places them at a much greater risk of finding themselves in a crisis situation.
Project LIFT– Project LIFT Belle Glade ($125,000) Belle Glade, FL
With Quantum funding, Project LIFT will provide a 16-week program to 150 at-risk teens around understanding and managing credit, budgeting, and resume preparation and interview skills. Licensed psychotherapists will provide high-quality mental health services through the unique platform of vocational training. This innovative approach helps at-risk teens replace negative and dangerous behaviors with positive coping skills and skilled trades. Hands-on instruction in carpentry, welding, engine repair, screen printing, and barbering/cosmetology creates an environment of trust and breaks down barriers that allow the therapy process to happen more efficiently, while also giving teens a viable career pathway. Their goal is to create sober, productive, contributing citizens who give back to the community rather than drain the local and state prison, hospital, and social service resources.
Center for Child Counseling (CFCC) – Integrating Mental Health into Primary Pediatrics ($200,000) Palm Beach Gardens, FL
With Quantum funding, CFCC and Palm Beach Pediatrics (PBP) will collaborate to ensure the mental health and wellness of children, adolescents, and their families through delivery of an array of prevention, early intervention, and mental health services within the primary care setting. CFCC’s therapist(s) will be embedded at all three PBP locations, working seamlessly as part of the team to provide mental health services, consultation, education, and resources for children, adolescents, caregivers, and staff.
Clinics Can Help (CCH) – Lending Closet ($20,000) West Palm Beach, FL
In 2020 CCH assisted over 3,000 children and adults by providing more than $1.8 million worth of medical equipment and supplies. Their donations during that time included, but were not limited to, 690 wheelchairs, 633 walkers, 500 cribs, 341 shower chairs, 278 commodes, 66 patient lifts, 61 nebulizers, 59 oxygen concentrators, 58 bedside tables, 51 braces, 47 lift chairs, 45 medical air mattresses, and more than 103,000 packages of wound care, incontinence products, and personal protective equipment (PPE). With Quantum funding, CCH will assist 13% more clients and provide 5% more durable medical equipment than they had in the prior 12 months.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – CF Care at Joe DiMaggio Wellington ($35,000) Wellington, FL
With Quantum funding, the multidisciplinary care team at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited care center located at Joe DiMaggio’s Medical Center in Wellington will provide specialized care to 91 patients, which involves improving lung function and maintaining a healthy body. The care team consists of a pulmonologist, nurse, dietician, social worker, and respiratory therapist. In addition to the required care staff, a physical therapist, psychologist, research coordinator, and pharmacist are recommended for each center.
Florida United Methodist Children’s Home – Foster Care Program in Palm Beach County ($25,000) West Palm Beach, FL
With Quantum funding, they will facilitate one foster parent orientation quarterly, license six new foster homes, recruit and license four teen foster homes, increase the number of foster homes that can care for two or more children, and provide ongoing training to improve the life of foster children by training and supporting foster parents to ensure they are able to meet all needs of those in care.
Monarch Health Services (MHS) – Palm Beach County Community STI/HIV/HepC Testing Services ($75,000) West Palm Beach, FL
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s most recent report (Jan 2021) reflects one-fifth of people in the United States having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and estimates 68 million active STIs, which is an all-time high, with nearly $16 billion in lifetime medical costs resulting from acquired STIs. With Quantum funding, MHS will provide STI/HIV/HepC testing to 604 Palm Beach County residents and provide results-specific “full spectrum” medical services and/or educational services to those tested. MHS’s expansion of sexual health services for all will positively impact the overall health of Palm Beach County via expansion of free testing.
Wounded Veterans Relief Fund (WVRF) – Dental Program for Disabled Veterans ($100,000) North Palm Beach, FL
With Quantum funding, WVRF’s Dental Program will provide access to emergency and essential dental care for 160 disabled veterans, being served by the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and surrounding clinics, who do not qualify for VA dental coverage. By providing access to essential and emergency dental care to disabled veterans, WVRF expects to close a gap in services for Florida veterans and improve the quality of life of those in need of dental care.
Connect to Greatness, Inc. – Health to Greatness ($25,000) Boynton Beach, FL
With Quantum funding, they will provide a 30-week program to 40 members designed to promote the physical health and well-being of boys, mothers, and coaches by providing them with educational tools to implement and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Health to Greatness aims to provide the boys, mothers, and coaches with the health education and tools they need to be the change-makers in the self-management of their health. The goal of Health to Greatness is to encourage the boys, mothers, and coaches to be a solution to many health problems that plague the African American community like obesity, hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and most recently COVID-19.
El Sol – Promotores de Salud ($181,131) Jupiter, FL
With Quantum funding, El Sol will provide health referrals and information in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner to 900 residents over a three-year period to expand their clients’ capacity to be healthy and have active voices in their own lives and community.
Unicorn Children’s Foundation (UCF) – Family Navigator Program ($30,000) Boca Raton, FL
With Quantum funding, UCF’s Family Navigator Program will strengthen and empower families through support, connection, and education to support their success at every stage of life.
YES Institute – Healthy and Inclusive Futures ($30,000) Palm Beach County, FL
With Quantum funding, YES Institute will serve 900 medical/mental health professionals on how to provide competent care around gender and orientation in Palm Beach County through 30-40 trainings delivered within one year, offering Continuing Education credits to Florida-licensed nurses and mental health therapists who complete the training.
Area Agency on Aging (AAA) – American Rescue Act ($30,000) West Palm Beach, FL
With Quantum funding, AAA will support approximately 3,500 meals for seniors. Other funding secured locally, and the American Rescue Act, will enable AAA to sustain home delivered meals for waitlisted individuals for a longer period of time.
Connections Education – Connections School Nurse ($60,000) West Palm Beach, FL
With Quantum funding, the Connections School Nurse will provide health screenings and direct health services to at least 80 students with autism spectrum disorder as well as conduct training for both the staff and parents on how to identify and monitor the children’s health conditions.
FLIPANY – Healthy Meals Out-of-School ($200,000) Palm Beach County, FL
With Quantum funding, FLIPANY will assist 12 childcare sites to enroll in the Federal Food Program to provide nutritious meals daily throughout the school year and summer months. FLIPANY contracts with the caterer, provides menus, trains the childcare site coordinator, and monitors the food program. By the end of this two-year project, 161,820 meals will be served to approximately 500 at-risk youth (approximately 12 centers) during their out-of-school time, and FLIPANY will build capacity and leverage over $445,000 from the state of Florida.
Palm Beach County Food Bank (PBCFB) – Pop-Up Farmers Market ($60,000) Lake Worth, FL
With Quantum funding, PBCFB will deliver 158,000 pounds of nutritious food via farmers markets set up in churches, schools, college campuses, and other sites located around the county. At four sites each week, low-income, food-insecure residents will receive a container of healthy food to enjoy with their families. Each container will also contain USDA nutrition information and recipes. Each week, four partner agencies located throughout the county will collaborate with Pop-Up Farmers Markets to distribute containers of fresh produce and other healthy, non-perishable food staples to low-income, food-insecure residents.