The Obici Healthcare Foundation recently announced the awarding of more than $1.75 million in grants to 19 nonprofit organizations serving Western Tidewater.

Award amounts among new and renewed grantees range from $15,000 to $268,395.

“The Foundation Board of Directors and staff are excited by the quality of the programs being offered by this group of grantees committed to providing care in the Foundation’s service area,” said R. Scott Carr, Foundation chairman.

The Obici Healthcare Foundation was created in 2006 with assets from the generosity of Amedeo Obici, the founder of Planters Peanuts, and funds from the merger of Louise Obici Memorial Hospital and Sentara Healthcare. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded $42.5 million in grant funding.

“Grants made by the Foundation continue Amedeo Obici’s legacy of improving the health status of people living in the service area,” said Annette Beuchler, Foundation president and chief executive officer. “Mr. Obici, the founder of Planter’s Peanuts, was successful in business and passionate about helping the people in Western Tidewater and Gates County, N.C.”

The Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to RAM (Remote Area Medical) of Virginia, a new grantee of the Foundation.

The grant will support the Southside Remote Area Medical clinic by providing free primary medical care, mental health services, dental services, vision services, prescription assistance and nutrition and health education to the community. This two-day clinic will be held on June 24 and 25 in Emporia and will serve the entire Southside region of Virginia, including Western Tidewater. Community partners include Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School, Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Washington Medical School, local Community Services Boards, Lab Corp, the Lion’s Club, Mission of Mercy dental services, local medical providers and Eta Phi Chi Chapter.

The other successful Spring 2017 grantees are listed below by organization name, award amount, program title and program description.

• Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia — $163,071 for the Western Tidewater Dental Voucher Program to allow financially eligible residents of Western Tidewater to receive acute dental care at participating dental clinics, health centers and private practices.
• Cover 3 Foundation — $50,000 to support a refrigerated vehicle and updated kitchen equipment for food safety meal preparation and delivery to feed children in after-school and summer USDA programs.
• Eastern Virginia Medical School — $45,000 for EVMS Continuity of Care for Western Tidewater to provide access to basic health care to uninsured Western Tidewater Free Clinic patients by engaging medical residents, third-year medical and physician assistant students.
• Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast — $15,000 to support capital improvements to Camp Darden’s ropes course and new outdoor climbing wall for cardio and strength training for Girl Scouts and adults from Western Tidewater.
• Hope Focus Center — $42,500 to renovate the interior structure of the facility to provide space for a commercial kitchen that will support healthy living activities for the residents of Franklin.
• KaBOOM! Inc. — $25,000 to support the building of a community playground to encourage Franklin children to enjoy active lifestyles and exercise.
• Nursing CAP Inc. — $26,750 to encourage students to practice healthy lifestyles and to choose a healthcare related career path.
• Sentara Obici Hospital — $90,681 to provide high risk expectant families and new parents with case management and home visiting support to increase infant survival rate.
• Sentara Obici Hospital — $65,229 to provide critically chronic ill patients access to a stable medical home and to foster patient engagement via chronic disease management using a case management model.
• Southeastern Virginia Health System — $200,000 for the Main Street Dental Program to provide access to comprehensive oral health care services for Western Tidewater residents.
• Suffolk Meals on Wheels — $46,975.50 to provide short-term emergency meals to at-risk patients transitioning home from the hospital with one or more health issues
• Healthy Suffolk — $164,298 to fund policy change, community engagement, philanthropy, organizational structure, staffing the formation of a health coalition and growth strategies for a culture of health in Suffolk.
• The Genieve Shelter — $65,000 to provide capital support for the replacement of two vehicles used to transport victims of domestic violence to health care and mental health services.
• The Up Center — $100,000 for the Western Tidewater Trauma Informed Counseling Collaborative Partnership to continue providing individuals and families with trauma informed care and counseling services in Western Tidewater.
• United Way of South Hampton Roads — United for Children — $54,551 for Learning and Enrichment for Academic Progress (LEAP) to support a learning and enrichment six-week summer school for low academic level Suffolk elementary children that includes healthy meals, physical fitness, access to basic hearing, vision and oral health care, behavioral health assessment and intervention and staff development on trauma-informed care of students.
• VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads — $16,875 for the 2017 Service Enterprise Initiative to fund a program to increase the effectiveness and efficiencies in the volunteer operations of two nonprofit organizations for the benefit of the communities they serve.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board — $61,885 to train peer providers who will educate, monitor and assist enrolled peers with chronic disease management.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board — $268,395.25 to provide uninsured and underinsured adults with access to community based psychiatric services for behavioral health care.
• Western Tidewater Health District — $140,422 for the Nurse-Family Partnership Program to address high-risk, low-income, first-time pregnancies with a maternal/infant/child evidenced-based home nurse visitation service for mothers in Suffolk, Franklin and Isle of Wight County.
• YMCA of South Hampton Roads — $50,000 to support center-wide renovations to better serve members through wellness programs, obesity prevention, chronic disease management and exercise.
• YMCA of South Hampton Roads — $37,237 to proactively address the prevalence of pre-diabetes by implementing a risk-reduction model for Western Tidewater residents based on a national best practice program.