Community Outreach

 

Memorial Hospital is committed to helping our community become the healthiest in the nation by 2010, in alliance with the National Healthy Communities Initiative. Creating a healthier community means helping people stay well by educating them on important topics, providing the means to adopt healthier lifestyle choices, and removing barriers to ensure access to adequate health care. Memorial has many established community outreach programs and also provides a significant amount of traditional charity care for patients who cannot afford health services. In addition, Memorial also has a unique community health program. The hospital allocates (or tithes) over a million dollars annually from excess revenues to help local organizations develop innovative programs that address a wide range of community health issues.

Some of the community health projects of Memorial are:

• Memorial Leighton Center for Senior Health
• Office of Minority Health
• School-Based Health Programs
• Early Childhood Services
• Center for the Homeless
• Southeast Neighborhood Clinic
• Congregational Nursing Program
• African American Women in Touch
• Youth Services Partnerships
• Health Access
• Hispanic Initiative
• Lead Poisoning Abatement Program
• Spirit of Women
• Habitat for Humanity

Other programs that Memorial offers to help promote wellness in our community include:

• PATH Wellness Program for all Memorial employees
• WOW! Wizard School
• Health and Lifestyle Fitness Center
• Health Discovery Center
• Healthworks! Kids Health Museum
• Neighborhood Family Medicine Clinics
• Annual Sunburst Races
• Employee community outreach projects
• Neighborhood Home rehabilitation projects
• Volunteer Physician Network

The Family Medicine Residency Program at Memorial Hospital is also actively involved in community outreach programs, often working closely with our clinic population to help make a healthy difference in their lives. Some of the projects include:

• Classes offered at the Family Medicine Center, including prenatal, parenting, smoking cessation and other support groups
• Financial assistance program at the E.Blair Warner Family Medicine Center including a sliding scale fee program
• Prostate, breast, cervical and skin screening programs
• Pre-participation sports physicals for community school children
• Team Physician coverage for local high schools and colleges
• School education programs on health-related topics
• Tar Wars
• American Cancer Society Relay for Life team

Memorial is committed to embracing the diversity of our community and to strengthening the relationships within our community to help make South Bend an even better place to live!