Grant recipients announced by Win. Hospital

WINCHESTER – Winchester Hospital’s Community Health Initiative (CHI) Grant Selection Committee, comprised of hospital leaders and community partners from across Winchester Hospital’s service area, awarded seven local nonprofit organizations more than $170,000 in grant money to support the health needs of the communities served by Winchester Hospital. The CHI grant was funded through the Department of Public Health Determination of Need (DoN) process for a joint venture between Winchester Hospital and Shields MRI to place an MRI unit onsite at the hospital.

Receiving grant money are the following organizations:

Medford Health Matters as they work to create a Big Table series on social and emotional wellness to address a variety of variables that can impact stress, social connectedness, and community engagement across the lifespan. This program will connect existing efforts and develop a plan for collaboration throughout the entire community.

Metro Housing Boston to extend their co-location Program to Medford, Winchester and Woburn. The program provides personalized services (counseling, case management, housing search, etc.) that lead families and individuals to housing stability, economic self-sufficiency, and an improved quality of life.

Mission of Deeds will address the inequities low income populations face in maintaining a safe, comfortable living environment by providing beds and cribs to individuals and families in need.

Mystic Valley Elders Services Mobile mental Health program will provide outreach, in-home care coordination, and in-home therapeutic treatment to older adults experiencing mental health and substance use issues.

NAN Project which works to develop a middle school mental health awareness and suicide prevention program for students at the Galvin Middle School in Wakefield based around a peer to peer model in order to reduce the stigma and improve students' knowledge and access to community supports.

North Reading Police Department in collaboration with the town’s Community Impact Team to launch an Alcohol Use Prevention Program which will engage youth to change attitudes and behaviors related to youth and youth adult alcohol use while improving supports for parents.

Woburn Public Schools as the department will implement Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools and offer training to families in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families.

The Winchester Hospital/Shields Joint Venture received approval from the Department of Public Health, Determination of Need office, for an additional MRI unit. As a condition of approval, the Joint Venture was asked to participate in a program called the Community Health Initiative (CHI), giving a percentage of the total project cost back to the community.

“We are excited to collaborate with these community organizations who are working diligently to identify and address the health needs of our communities,” said Richard Weiner, MD CEO of Winchester Hospital. “There are so many wonderful organizations doing such great work to improve the health and well-being of residents. We are thrilled to partner with these seven organizations and look forward to tackling these health needs together. This process could not have been completed without the work of our community health experts who formed the grant election committee.”

The Winchester Hospital/Shields Joint Venture will be placing the MRI machine at Winchester Hospital. The machine will be the joint venture’s third MRI machine, and the first one to be located at the hospital. The other two are located at their outpatient facility in Woburn.

Winchester Hospital

Winchester Hospital, a member of Beth Israel-Lahey Health, was the first hospital in Massachusetts to earn Magnet recognition, the American Nurses Association’s highest honor for nursing excellence, three times. It has since received the recognition a fourth time.

As the northwest suburban Boston area’s leading provider of comprehensive health care services, the 229-bed facility provides care in general, bariatric and vascular surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, oncology, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, radiation oncology, pain management, obstetrics/gynecology and a Level IIB Special Care Nursery.

For more information on Winchester Hospital, visit www.winchesterhospital.org.

About Shields Health Care Group

Shields Health Care Group provides MRI, PET/CT, and Radiation Oncology services to patients at more than 30 locations in New England. With a focus on cutting-edge technology, provider expertise, and affordability, Shields prioritizes the patient experience above all. Shields offers high-field open-bore MRI machines that allow for greater patient comfort while maintaining clear images.

Additional services include MR arthrogram and breast MRI, as well as Shields ProCare, an imaging medical equipment maintenance and service company. All Shields locations are ACR accredited. A family-owned and operated business, Shields offers the largest and most technically advanced network of medical imaging and diagnostic treatment facilities in New England.