Celebrating the power of partnership, the three Providence hospitals in the Valley came together this week with leaders from 23 nonprofit groups to encourage networking. The goal was to work with one another to improve the health of the greater community.

These organizations were recipients of 2019 Mother Joseph fund grants totaling $400,000 that were provided by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Providence Tarzana Medical Center.

The groups offer programs for vulnerable populations including homeless, victims of domestic violence, addicts and those with physical disabilities and behavioral health issues.

“We have reached a new day in healthcare where we recognize that health care begins in the home and in the community,” said Judie Wilkie, chairwoman of the Mission Committee of the Providence Community Ministry Board – San Fernando Valley Service Area. “Housing, food, dental care, social outlets, et cetera are forms of preventive medicine. We refer to them as social determinants of health. Your organizations help our medical centers keep people healthy and avoid unwarranted hospital stays.”

An advisory group composed of representatives from Wilkie’s committee chose these organizations to receive grants:
• Northeast Valley Health Clinic, San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys
• Valley Care Consortium, San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys
• Alliance Community Empowerment, Canoga Park
• All-Inclusive Community Health Center, Burbank/Eagle Rock/Glendale
• Asencia, Burbank/Glendale
• Boys and Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley, North Hollywood/Sun Valley
• Burbank Noon Lions Charities
• Burbank Temporary Aid Center
• Burbank YMCA
• Catholic Charities, San Fernando Valley Region
• Child Development Institute, Tarzana
• El Centro de Amistad, San Fernando Valley
• Family Promise of the Verdugos, Burbank/Eagle Rock/Glendale
• Family Service Agency, Burbank
• Guardian Angel Catholic School, Pacoima
• Haven Hills, Canoga Park
• Kids Community Dental Clinic, San Fernando Valley
• MEND, Pacoima
• One Generation, Van Nuys
• San Fernando Community Health Center
• St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic School, North Hollywood
• St. Patrick Catholic School, North Hollywood
• Therapeutic Living Centers for the Blind, Reseda

These organizations applied for the funding and described ways it would be spent. A large portion of the money allocated went to services for the growing numbers of homeless in the Valley and surrounding communities. Other recipients serve children from low-income families, the disabled, the elderly and fragile infants in need of follow-up medical care.

This spirit of partnership goes back 160 years when Mother Joseph Pariseau of the Sisters of Providence founded Providence Health & Services in the Pacific Northwest. Led by Mother Joseph, the sisters worked with their communities to build schools, orphanages and hospitals. In 2016, Providence and Orange County-based St. Joseph Health joined to form a new organization, Providence St. Joseph Health.

“It is truly so important for our Providence St. Joseph Health ministries to collaborate with like-minded organizations within the communities we serve,” Wilkie said. “We can’t do the work alone; it takes all of us working together to help our communities improve and thrive.”

About Providence Saint Joseph Health, Southern California
PSJH Southern California is a not-for-profit Catholic health network with 10 hospitals, approximately 90 clinics, TrinityCare Hospice and its TrinityKids Care pediatric hospice, Providence High School, home health care services, eight wellness centers and numerous physician groups in its Southern California Region. Together these ministries, including secular affiliates and some representing other faiths, generate $7.5 billion in net revenue and have approximately 35,000 employees – called caregivers – and nearly 5,200 physicians on staff. PSJH Southern California is part of Providence St. Joseph Health, a health system of 111,000 caregivers serving in 51 hospitals, 829 clinics and a comprehensive range of services across Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington. PSJH strives to increase access to health care and bring quality, compassionate care to those we serve, with a focus on those most in need.