To improve public health

In battling ailments from asthma to alcohol abuse, Glendale Memorial Hospital and Medical Center is looking to give away more than $100,000 to local charities.

Since 1999 the hospital has doled out more than $1 million to nonprofit groups seeking to improve public health in the region, hospital spokeswoman Danielle Grossman said.

Local groups have until Aug. 20 to submit letters seeking some of the $102,000 the hospital has set aside this year. Past recipients have included the Salvation Army of Glendale, the American Red Cross, the Glendale Community Free Health Clinic and the Armenian American Medical Society Ladies Auxiliary.

The hospital’s parent company, San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West, allocates the money each year.

“They put away funds for every single hospital so we can give back to other organizations providing health resources in the community,” Grossman said.

Glendale Healthy Kids has used some of the money to sponsor the For the Kids Health Fair last year at Pacific Park Community Center, where families gained access to free medical and dental screenings and received referrals for free or inexpensive treatment. The event will take place again in April, Executive Director Camille Levee said.

“Glendale Memorial’s focus is on education and prevention as well as treatment,” she said. “We keep kids who can’t afford it out of the emergency room and we provide education for the families we touch.”

Glendale Memorial’s grant program is based on the results of the most recent community needs assessment, a survey of nearby hospitals, medical professionals, schools and other agencies. The assessment, completed every three years, identifies goals for improving health care services in the region.

This year the Glendale Memorial Mission Council, which determines who receives the grants, will focus on agencies that serve locals, promote good health with educational efforts and work to tackle specific problems, including asthma, obesity, alcohol abuse and colorectal cancer, Grossman said.

Grant applicants must send a letter of intent via fax or mail by Aug. 20, and also e-mail the letters to Glendale Memorial Chaplain Larry Johnson at larry.johnson2@chw.edu.

The Glendale Memorial Mission Council will review the letters and then choose the groups that may submit full proposals. For more information, visit https://www.chwhealth.org/communitygrants.