Seven groups get $900,000 boost

~ The money will be used to cover daily operations.

Seven area health-related organizations that serve those with low incomes are receiving a boost of nearly $900,000 in grant money that is intended pick up the slack where other grants and private donations fall short.

"Organizations usually can find money for the programs, but we found they were having a problem meeting those daily operational costs," said Bev Pfeifer-Harms, a representative of the Missouri Foundation for Health. "This grant is intended to defray those costs."

The foundation announced the grants, part of its Basic Support program, on Tuesday. Pfeifer-Harms said the money can only be used for operational costs.

The foundation -- established in 2000 through the not-for-profit conversion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri -- was hearing things like: "Our boiler blew up," "Our air conditioning has gone out" and "Our computers are 5 years old and there's no money to replace them."

"Grant money, oftentimes, can only be used for the programs that these organizations provide," Pfeifer-Harms said. "But if a bus for a transportation agency has 200,000 miles on it ... well, you don't have any programs without the bus."

To date, the foundation has awarded $20 million in Basic Support funding to organizations across Missouri in the three years it has been implemented, Pfeifer-Harms said. This round totals about $6 million across the state with another $6 million coming in September, she said. The foundation also gives other grants from its pool of about $1.2 billion.

Local agencies receiving the grants over the next two years said the money will be put to good use.

Cross Trails Medical Center, for example, will get nearly $200,000. The center, with branches in Cape Girardeau, Marble Hill and Advance, offers medical and dental services in five Southeast Missouri counties.

Chrissy Warren, chief operating officer for the center, said the money will be used for software to create a new computer system for its patient records. Currently, medical patient and dental patient records are tracked separately. The new system will integrate both in one system, she said. The new system will also allow the physicians to access lab and X-ray information from their off-site offices.

A new telephone system will also eliminate long-distance charges when a person from one Cross Trails center phones another. Workers will also be able to phone the other center directly instead of going through the operator, freeing the operator to spend more time fielding calls from clients.

"We're very excited," Warren said. "It will help the clinic run much smoother."

The Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau is getting $191,581 from the foundation to help fund its operational support program, said director of project development Jay White.

He said the money will be used to pay the salaries of the six to eight people who are on call 24 hours a day when someone calls come seeking outpatient crisis therapy. Such therapists often have to make trips to homes, jails or hospitals to help patients deal with mental-health issues.

"It's almost a gift in a way," White said. "This program costs us a ton. We really lose our shirt on that."

The Safe House for Women in Cape Girardeau is set to receive $43,688 from the foundation over two years. Allison Leonard, director of operations at the shelter for abused women and their children, said they will also use the money to supplement salaries.

The Department of Public Safety, for example, will only pay 90 percent of someone's salary, she said.

"So we have to come up with the other 10," she said. "We can also only bill the state for the direct time we spend with the client. But we spend a lot of time doing other stuff in the shelter -- making beds, making sure the smoke detectors work, behind-the-scenes stuff that we can't bill for."

The Perry County Community Health Task Force in Perryville, Mo., is getting $59,924 to fund expenses of its youth substance prevention program. The Scott County Public Health Center in Benton is getting $100,000 for family planning and reproductive health services for low-income, uninsured and underinsured women.

The Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, which provides meals and nutritional services to the low-income elderly in New Madrid, Pemiscot and Scott counties, is receiving $200,000 for food and supplies.

The Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center in East Prairie is getting $98,885 to allow for the continuation of on-site counseling and support services to victims of domestic violence in Mississippi County.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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