Concordia Lutheran Ministries

Concordia Community Support Services (CCSS) manages the leadership and operations of Concordia Visiting Nurses; Alliance Visiting Nurses, dba, VNA Alliance; Good Samaritan Hospice of Pittsburgh; Concordia Hospice of Washington, Concordia Private Care, Concordia Medical Equipment, and Concordia IRMC-VNA dba VNA of Indiana County. All of these entities are 501(c)(3) non-profit entities. During the fiscal year, approximately 25,644 patients were served across 15 counties in home health, hospice and private duty services. In addition, Concordia Medical Equipment supports the approximately 49,000 patients that Concordia Lutheran Ministries serves over 11 campuses in Pennsylvania by providing durable medical equipment and supplies. From nursing and therapy services to specialized services such as IV Therapy, wound care, palliative care and mental health care, our visiting nurses' teams ensure that patients are provided care in the comfort of their own home with the goal of preventing rehospitalization and monitoring chronic disease states. Our hospice team provides comfort care to improve the overall quality of life of patients who are on their end-of-life journey. Our medical equipment agency is dedicated to enhancing home safety by providing a wide selection of durable medical equipment and related home medical equipment and supplies such as home accessibility products, mobility aids, and respiratory products and services. Families of our patients play a vital role so we educate and support them through situations related to caring for a loved one who is aging, all the way through their end-of-life. Bereavement care is also provided to families of hospice patients for at least a year beyond the patient's death. Employees are offered training and opportunities to obtain new skills such as Wound Care Certification, Palliative Care Training, IV Therapy Certification, Lymphedema Therapy Certification, Home Health and Hospice Coding Certification, and Hospice Boot Camp Training. Employees are offered an opportunity to attend nursing school tuition-free and two employees took advantage of the offer during the fiscal year. Throughout the COVID-19 PHE, the organization provided focused education on various related topics. These topics included what COVID-19 is, how to prevent the spread, how to care for patients that are positive for COVID-19, mitigation efforts, Personal Protective Equipment utilization and other infection control practices. This education was provided through varying platforms such as secure messaging, at virtual staff meetings and through the Learning Management Software, Elsevier. Staff have also been educated on COVID-19 vaccinations and the importance of vaccinations as a tool to help end the PHE. A corporate nursing team was established to assist with education and administration related to the COVID-19 vaccinations. The vaccination was administered to fellow co-workers, patients, residents and members of surrounding communities at no charge. The Concordia PR department has continued participating in monthly educational radio talk shows which are broadcast in Beaver County, PA on WBVP/WMBA and in Butler County, PA on WISR. The goal of these radio shows is to educate family caregivers, whether they are a senior caring for a spouse or adult children caring for an older adult. Shows often talk about caregiving tips and the listener is directed to the services offered by CCSS companies so they can make informed decisions on care. Our educational websites are helpful to visitors who are in need of family caregiving tips including a wide range of needs from Alzheimer's and memory impairment to common diseases like CHF, COPD and Diabetes. The Palliative care website assists people who struggle with a serious illness but are still seeking curative care. There are two hospice websites, one for the Pittsburgh market and one for the Washington, PA market. Several of our CCSS employees and members of management serve annually at Concordia Summer Festival (July 2021) and Concordia Octoberfest (October 2021). Both events are sponsored by Concordia Lutheran Health and Human Care and are open to the public as a way of providing entertainment, food and refreshments and a feeling of community. One CCSS employee volunteers an extra 40 hours per year to coordinate the Kids Area for each festival which includes activities, crafts and face painting, all of which are provided free to the public. A Mission Committee was formed by CCSS in 2018 to organize opportunities for employees to serve the community. The committee consists of employees of CCSS and the seven agencies that we manage and the approximate cost of the time invested in the meetings to organize the events is $5,600. Employees of CVN and CCSS went to the Cabot Food Bank to help pack boxes and bags for their monthly distribution. The was a recurring community outreach event that occurred in July 2021, October 2021, and March 2021. They helped with sorting all the donations and packing them into boxes and bags that will get loaded into vehicles later that week. Average for each event was 6 employees for 1.5 hrs. The Thanksgiving Mission Event in October/November 2021 was an effort to allow the BHS Food Institute to continue its mission to help our neighbors in need. Butler Health System, a partner of Concordia Visiting Nurses and Good Samaritan Hospice, has developed the BHS Food Institute in an effort to provide struggling community members with access to affordable and nutritious food. This event was be done completely remotely through Amazon.com and BHS's website. The BHS Food Institute created a Wish List on Amazon that includes kitchen utensils for patients. Concordia employees were encouraged to buy directly from Amazon or donate a monetary gift. The Spring Collection Drive in January/February 2022: The Lighthouse Foundation hands out a birthday box to anyone who participates in their food pantry. These boxes contain items that allow their recipient to make a cake and truly celebrate a birthday for a member of their family. Employees worked in teams to purchase cake mix, ingredients, card, decorations, etc to fill the box. In March 2022, The Concordia Family of Pennsylvania partnered with a company out of Moon Township called DTCare. This non-profit agency shipped much needed supplies to support those who have sought refuge in Poland as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. Employees purchased supplies such as toothbrushes, soap, diapers, socks and first aid supplies. Concordia Medical Equipment employees used their trucks to transport everything gathered to Moon Township. Total cost to the agency for sponsorships for fiscal year ended 6/30/2022 equated $13,046. The following local organizations have received direct financial support from Concordia Community Support Services through sponsorships of events: BC3 Education Foundation, Inc.: Golf Outing, Butler Catholic School, Butler Co Soccer Association, Butler Co Symphony Association, Butler Tornado Baseball Boosters, Christ Lutheran Church-Pittsburgh Golf Outing, Community Health Center, Concordia Lutheran Ministries Foundation, CrossFit Recreate, Butler Area US Bowling Congress, Redeemer Lutheran School, Saxonburg Area Baseball Association Team Sponsorships, Saxonburg Parade and Winterfest, United Cheerleading Boosters, Indiana Healthcare Foundation. Total cost to the agency for donations made during the fiscal year ended 6/30/2022 equated $10,008,504. This includes cash donations to various other 501(c)(3) organizations including: Concordia Hospice of Washington Cardinal Project $1,000, South Butler Community Library $1,504, Concordia Private Care $914 to cover cost of a patient, Supplies for a Mission Event benefiting The Lighthouse Foundation $121, and CLMF Power of the Purse Event $105. $60 total donations were given to the American Heart Association and Concordia at Cabot Adult Day Services as part of our Employee Benefit Fund program in which donations are given to a charity of employee's choice when a qualifying event occurs, such as a death in the family. Good Samaritan Endowment Fund was supported with a total of $1,000,000, Concordia Lutheran Ministries Parent was supported with a total of $9,000,000 and Concordia Tele-CareGivers was supported with a total of $4,800.