Prisma Health Academics

We are Prisma Health

Feature

Greenville Health Authority awards more than $20 million in community grants

Feature, Press Release

GREENVILLE, SC—Following a unanimous vote today, (Wednesday, July 29), the Greenville Health Authority (GHA) Board of Trustees awarded 15 new grants through its Healthy Greenville program, bringing the total amount of its community health-focused grants to more than $20 million since the program launched four years ago.

Just-awarded grants benefit a range of projects, including homes for those with severe disabilities who are also experiencing chronic homelessness, a program to expand virtual services to those with Parkinson’s disease and repurposing a school bus into a mobile café to reach children and senior citizens at risk for hunger.

“The Greenville Health Authority Board of Trustees is very excited to award a $500,000 grant over the next three years to United Housing Connections toward the building of its innovative Church Street Place,” said Mike Ellison, the GHA grant committee chairman. “This award aligns with the Community Health Needs Assessment for Greenville County and with the GHA vision to help make Greenville County the healthiest county in America.”

“Housing and healthcare go hand in hand,” said Lorain Crowl, executive director of United Housing Connections. “We are so proud to partner with Prisma Health to create 36 homes for some of the most vulnerable citizens in our Greenville Community – those with severe mental or physical disabilities who are experiencing chronic homelessness. On behalf of those who will call Church Street Place at Poe Mill home, thank you!”

Construction is scheduled to begin by the summer of 2021, with the project projected to be ready for occupancy by winter 2022. The development will provide housing stability for individuals with chronic complex needs that are challenging to serve in other housing models, as well as a stable and harm-reducing housing platform that provides wellness opportunities and access to quality healthcare.

“With the United Housing Connections award and the other 14 Healthy Greenville and Healthy Greenville, Too awards made this year, Greenville Health Authority has now pledged more than $20 million in grants through 2020. Of that $20 million, almost $16 million has already been distributed to organizations making a difference in the health and well-being of the communities where we live and serve,” said Ellison. “My fellow trustees and I continue to be proud and excited to be a part of this organization and these grant initiatives that will make a difference for generations to come.”

This year’s recipients include a one-year $25,662 grant and 13 one-year micro-grants under $8,000. By 2052, the program is expected to invest more than $136 million into health programs directly benefitting Greenville County; the health benefits are expected to be felt outside of the county as well.

The other macro-grant awarded this year is to the Greenville Area Parkinson Society, which received a $25,662 one-year grant to support technology initiatives to expand its virtual services. The support, which includes iPads for members and an online platform, will allow homebound members and those with transportation obstacles to gain social, educational and physical support

In addition, 13 programs will receive micro-grants of $7,692 for one-year support:

  • Center for Educational Equity will receive support for outreach and support targeting at-risk students. The program features a structured after-school environment that advocates academics and fitness.
  • Upstate Circle of Friends Neighborhood Mobile Café will receive a grant to repurpose a school bus into a mobile café to reach up to 200 children at risk for hunger. The project will maintain the program’s focus on youth residing in low-income housing areas but also will benefit senior citizens identified through a just-completed COVID-19 feeding program.
  • The Greenville Tech Foundation received support for its Greenville Technical College Education & Prevention to Improve Community Dental Care (GTC EPIC Dental Care). The clinic plans to serve more than 1,500 people in 2020.
  • International Ballet will receive support for its innovative accessibility dance classes. The group hopes to restart the classes in mid-August, with conditioning mats designated personally to each participant and disinfected after each use.
  • Jasmine Road Inc. will receive support for its transformational two-year “housing-first” residential program. The project will provide access to mental and behavioral healthcare services for its residents.
  • LEAD Collective Inc. will receive support to hire a part-time intern from the Nicholtown community to help with the Eleos After School program for middle school and high school students. The after-school program includes tutoring, creative arts, sports, healthy meals and free counseling through a new partnership with the Heritage Family Center.
  • Meals on Wheels Greenville will receive additional support for specialty meals for patients facing physical limitations.
  • North Greenville Crisis Ministry will use the additional support to provide rent or utility assistance for more families in need of crisis assistance.
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas supports the efforts of Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in its work to care for medically fragile children, with the Ronald McDonald House ensuring that children’s families are close by and able to provide emotional support to them.
  • Safe Harbor Inc. will use the grant to provide mental health counseling for victims of domestic violence.
  • Sustaining Way will use this grant to improve the health and well-being of Greenville’s Nicholtown community through its youth stewardship, home energy efficiency outreach and gardening programs.
  • SWITCH’s Restoration Program will provide comprehensive support services for up to 20 women in Greenville County who are survivors of human trafficking or sexual exploitation. Assistance can include short-term crisis management and long-term integrated care using an individualized case management approach focused on targeted interventions.
  • YouthBASE, a free afterschool and summer program, equips children in kindergarten through second grade – and their families – with additional support to overcome behavioral, academic, social and emotional difficulties.

As part of a lease agreement with Prisma Health–Upstate, Greenville Health Authority oversees the Healthy Greenville grants program. Prisma Health-Upstate provides Greenville Health Authority an annual commitment of $4 million for the Healthy Greenville program to support health-related care, health research and health education initiatives benefiting the residents of Greenville County.

For more information about GHA’s grants program, visit https://greenvillehealthauthority.org/

Community members work with Prisma Health task force to develop and manufacture face shields

Feature, Press Release

GREENVILLE, SC—In both Columbia and Greenville, Prisma Health’s Rapid Innovation Task Force has partnered with local entrepreneurs to rapidly develop and manufacture large quantities of protective face shields for Prisma Health’s front-line healthcare workers.

Face shields are full-face visors worn by workers to help protect their faces from potentially infectious substances. They were identified early on by Prisma Health as a critical-needs manufacturing project to ensure its workers would continue to have access to the equipment regardless of national supply levels.

In Greenville, task force member Jerry Chang teamed with Prisma Health to develop a prototype, test, manufacture and coordinate initial delivery, with the process taking only weeks. Chang is also husband to its Upstate chief medical officer, Catherine Chang, MD.

“As local entrepreneurs, that’s our job – to make miracles happen,” said Chang, the owner and managing partner of Samaritan Biologics. “I want to thank the generous community partners who donated their time and equipment to help keep our healthcare workers and others safe in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The face shields will be also be shared with first responders, nursing homes and other facilities as needed.

Partners in the Upstate face shield project also included Mitsubishi Polyester Film in Greer, Paper Cutters Inc. in Travelers Rest, American Foam and Fabric in Lyman and Roylco Industrial in Anderson. Students at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, meanwhile, assembled the face shields. The disposable plastic face shields were made at a significant cost savings because most of the work was donated or at reduced cost.

In Columbia, John Carrington is founder and CEO of Zverse, a local firm specializing in prototype design and 3D printing. His team worked with Prisma Health physicians to quickly develop a face shield designed for safety, comfort and a low unit cost. In only two days the first prototype was developed and refined by in-house designers, while Zverse reached out to their U.S. manufacturing partners equipped for mass production. The key component is the headpiece designed to hold the clear disposable visor from ear-to-ear and may be repeatedly sterilized for reuse. Once Zverse’s 3D-printed prototype was approved, their manufacturing partners in South Carolina, North Carolina and Minnesota created injection molds capable of reproducing tens of thousands of units per day and quickly began production.

“This project came to us with remarkable timing,” said Carrington. “Not only did it allow us to support a critical healthcare need in the COVID-19 crisis, we were able save and create new local jobs at a moment when we were expecting a severe business slowdown due to the pandemic. Our team knew scared front-line workers, family and friends around the country who could benefit from this, and it gave us something to rally around.”

Since launching this year, the Prisma Health Rapid Innovation Task Force has partnered with academic and business partners to quickly develop solutions to the urgent needs created by the pandemic. Early successes include innovative manufacturing such as the face shields, therapies such as convalescent serum and even donation drives with University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville to help supply community partners with protective gear and cleaning supplies.

“It’s incredible to see how our entire community stood up to help us,” said John Kudlak, DO, a Prisma Health pulmonologist and task force member. “By working closely with local industry, Prisma Health was able to source design and materials for face shields to protect our front-line healthcare workers and also our community partners.”

About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a not-for-profit health company and the largest healthcare system in South Carolina. With nearly 30,000 team members, 18 hospitals, 2,984 beds and more than 300 physician practice sites, Prisma Health serves more than 1.2 million unique patients annually. Its goal is to improve the health of all South Carolinians by enhancing clinical quality, the patient experience and access to affordable care, as well as conducting clinical research and training the next generation of medical professionals. For more information, visit PrismaHealth.org.

Related media