Anna Jaques Hospital Awards $100,000 to Support Region’s Community Health Needs
10 Organizations to Receive Grants to Aid Citizens of Greater Newburyport, Haverhill
Newburyport, MA – In keeping with its longstanding commitment to the community, Anna Jaques Hospital, part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, is awarding $100,000 in grant funding over the next two years to 10 community-based organizations serving the health needs of citizens throughout Greater Newburyport.
The grants are part of Anna Jaques Hospital’s Community Benefits Program and are intended to support programs that address community health priorities and provide meaningful impact for individuals and populations facing the greatest health inequities within the hospital’s service area. Residents of Newburyport, Amesbury, Haverhill, Salisbury and Merrimac will benefit from the funding.
The selection criteria for the grants included four major health priorities impacting the community that were identified during the hospital’s most recent Community Health Needs Assessment, completed in 2022: Equitable Access to Care, Social Determinants of Health, Mental Health and Substance Use, and Chronic/Complex Conditions.
“By supporting and investing in local organizations that share our goal in addressing the health needs of our region, we improve the quality of life for local residents while strengthening the communities that we serve,” said Glenn Focht, MD, president of Anna Jaques Hospital. “We are proud to support these local organizations and the important work they do to reduce health disparities and inequities throughout our region.”
The following 10 nonprofit organizations will receive two-year Community Benefits grants of $5,000 per year, for a total of $10,000:
This program provides basic services aimed at alleviating hunger and homelessness, while being an advocate for the financially under-resourced members of the community. The funds will assist in providing basic needs for the 90 to 100 individuals from the region who are served each day.
This temporary overnight emergency shelter provides unhoused adults with a bed, meals, housing search and employment assistance and the case management support to help them secure permanent housing and needed health and social services. The funds will aid the shelter in serving the 400 individuals it assists annually.
McKinney-Vento Program, Haverhill Public Schools
The grant will support food programming, including food closets and a food pantry program, for families in the Haverhill Public Schools experiencing homelessness. The program seeks to aid an additional 40 students and up to 15 percent more families with the funds.
Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center; Youth Empowerment Series
This series provides violence prevention programs that teach students of all ages to lead conversations on healthy relationships and to make positive decisions. The funds will support the expansion of the series into Newburyport, allowing the program to serve an additional 100 to 150 participants.
Link House: Children and Teen Center for Help (CATCH)
CATCH seeks to empower and support children and teens ages 5 to 18 and their families across the region to understand and nurture their mental well-being. The funding will help to increase the number of young people served by 10 percent.
Northern Essex Elder Transport (NEET)
This volunteer driver program provides adults age 60 and older across the region with no-cost transportation to medical appointments. The funding will support the 4,000 rides being provided to 500 individuals annually.
Nourishing the Northshore: VEGOUT program
This program provides free fresh, locally grown produce to food pantries and senior centers across the region from June to October. The funds will assist the program in providing 280,000 servings of food, which will be a 55 percent increase from 2023.
Our Neighbors’ Table: Wednesday Meal Program
The grant will assist this weekly community program based in Amesbury, which provides a hot, three-course meal, served table-side by volunteers or as carry-out orders, to 300 individuals every Wednesday.
Pettengill House: Behavioral Event and Substance Support Team (BESST)
The funds will aid in providing a professional social worker and wraparound support for individuals and families with mental health and substance abuse needs in Merrimac, Salisbury, Amesbury and Newburyport. The program assisted 462 individuals in 321 households in 2023.
Sarah's Place Adult Health Center
This senior adult day health program offers outreach and education to assist individuals in remaining healthy and independent in their own homes. The funding will help enroll an additional 25 to 50 participants in the program.
About Anna Jaques Hospital
Anna Jaques Hospital is a 83-bed not-for-profit community hospital serving the Merrimack Valley, North Shore and Southern New Hampshire. With 1,200 employees and more than 200 physicians on staff, Anna Jaques is recognized for delivering high quality community health care with an emphasis on patient satisfaction.
Anna Jaques Hospital is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians, and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through ground-breaking research and education.
