IU Health Foundation grants $126,000 to benefit patients in Carmel, Tipton, Fishers and Avon

The IU Health Foundation announced the funding of 13 projects in Indianapolis suburbs totaling $126,000. The grants were made with $80,000 from the Foundation’s new regional grants program and $46,000 from donors who have given to Area of Greatest Need funds.

“Regional grants empower IU Health team members to improve the health of individuals, communities and our state,” said Crystal Hinson Miller, IU Health Foundation president and IU Health chief philanthropy officer. “This regional grants program is a new opportunity for our Indianapolis Suburban Region to leverage the power of philanthropy, and honors donors’ intentions by ensuring that dollars contributed locally fund local needs.”

The awarded grants are:

  • $31,500 for a maternal/newborn simulator that will be used to train first responders, nurses and other team members in how to recognize and respond to complications during childbirth that can lead to mother or child deaths. This is in response to Indiana having one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the U.S.
  • $20,000 for state-of-the-art equipment used to do compressions during resuscitation at IU Health Saxony Hospital.
  • $15,000 to create additional programming to support and encourage team members’ self-care and well-being.
  • $10,000 for labor and delivery room training plus tools, including birthing stools, aromatherapy and speakers, to decrease the overall rate of cesarean deliveries at IU Health West Hospital.
  • $10,000 to train and certify therapists in pelvic floor therapy, a growing type of therapy that helps with bowel and bladder issues, which have increased due to the aging population.
  • $8,700 for equipment at IU Health Tipton Hospital to support speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy for patient rehabilitation. The equipment will support the team’s work in assisting patients after strokes, with wound care, vestibular therapy and general rehabilitation.
  • $8,500 for virtual reality headsets that patients can use during infusion treatments and oncology appointments at the IU Health Joe & Shelly Schwarz Cancer Center. Patients receiving chemotherapy must often sit from three to six hours, which can cause them to become anxious, bored, agitated and withdrawn. Virtual reality allows patients to be “transported” to more soothing settings.
  • $8,000 for team members to participate in the Resilience in Stressful Events (RISE) training, which teaches how to provide peer-to-peer support for staff involved in adverse patient events, stressful situations or patient-related injuries. The program will launch at IU Health North Hospital.
  • $5,000 for training and aromatherapy materials at IU Health West Hospital to help manage team members’ stress levels so they can provide more focused patient care.
  • $3,600 to build a concrete sidewalk connecting IU Health Tipton Hospital with a community walking path, improving access to the hospital and giving everyone more room to exercise.
  • $2,600 to pilot a food pantry for team members at IU Health West Hospital.
  • $2,050 for iPads at IU Health Tipton Hospital to be used by patients working to reduce their tobacco use. The iPads will allow patients to review educational materials at their own pace and allow rehab staff to know whether materials have been reviewed.
  • $1,050 for iPads in the cancer and infusion services department at IU Health Tipton Hospital. They will be used by patients to review educational materials and will allow staff to track what information patients have seen. In addition, patients can use the iPads to distract themselves during tedious treatment.

For information about how philanthropy supports suburban Indianapolis communities, contact Heather Perdue at hperdue@iuhealth.org or visit iuhealthfoundation.org.