ToRCH Be Well Advisory Board awards grants to area organizations

The ToRCH Be Well Advisory Board, which formed in January, recently awarded nearly $240,000 to four local community-based organizations.

The organizations receiving funding include Pettis County Health Center, Pillars of Pettis County, Compass Health Network and Bothwell Regional Health Center.

Allison Brosch, Dean of Health Sciences at State Fair Community College and chair of the ToRCH Be Well board, said the grant awards will inject funds and new services into the community.

“All of these grant applications were stellar and represent exciting new services for housing, post-hospital stay support, transportation and ongoing wellness,” she said. “Each of the projects meets the goal of the ToRCH program, which is to provide valuable resources to Pettis County’s most vulnerable populations.”

In July 2023, Bothwell was named one of six hospital community hubs to participate in the state of Missouri’s Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH) pilot project. Bothwell is the fiscal agent for the program and the leadership board, made up of people from several organizations, sets the budget and project priorities.

Bothwell is receiving state and federal funds over five years to implement and manage the program. Funding is from the Missouri Department of Social Services and the MO HealthNet Division, which manages the state’s Medicaid health insurance program.

Brosch said the program’s goal is to help Pettis County’s Medicaid population by improving people’s health and well-being and helping them avoid preventable hospital admissions and emergency room visits.

“It’s a new program so we’re early in our processes and award funding,” she said. “The program is accomplishing several objectives – connecting community-based organizations with each other and providing money to these organizations to implement innovative and needed services that provide people on Medicaid with resources that can improve their overall health and stability.”

Missouri’s Medicaid program helps people with limited income and resources with their health care costs. People who are eligible include pregnant women, children, someone responsible for a child under 19, someone with a disability or caring for a disabled family member, people aged 19 to 64, including parents and adults without children, and people 65 years or older.

Brosch said the program’s ultimate goal is to create a wide variety of resources for education, housing, employment and social support networks, as well as access to health care.

“We know that being healthy has roots in many places,” she said. “If someone has a safe place to live, good food, a way to get to health appointments and people who support them, their likelihood of staying out of the hospital goes up. This first round of grant awards is an exciting milestone for the program. Our board and advisory committee has been working diligently for over a year to get to this point and we’re excited to continue our work.”

Grants were awarded as follows:

Pettis County Health Center received $72,000 to offer free lab testing for men over the age of 50 and free well-woman exams for women under the age of 35 through its Healthy Me, Healthy Community wellness fairs.

Pillars of Pettis County, a volunteer-led, nonprofit organization, received $40,000 for start-up funds toward its goal to provide affordable housing and support resources for Medicaid recipients.

Compass Health Network received $97,334 to place a licensed Hospital Access Liaison at Bothwell Hospital. This person will provide up to 30 days of support to Medicaid patients who have been discharged from the Emergency Department or a hospital inpatient unit and help them transition to services provided by community-based organizations.

Bothwell Regional Health Center received $30,000 to purchase a wheelchair-accessible van. The vehicle will be used to provide medical and non-medical transportation services for Medicaid recipients ensuring timely access to health care and community activities.

Community-based organizations interested in learning more about the ToRCH grant funding should email torch@brhc.org.