Fort Sanders Foundation

Covenant HomeCare and Hospice:Donors to Fort Sanders Foundation provide funding for a partnership between Covenant HomeCare and Knoxville Area Rescue Mission (KARM) to reduce frequent hospitalizations among the homeless community. In 2022, just over $209,000 was distributed to support that project which provides onsite medical care, clinic facilities, medication management and case management at the KARM shelter. Since opening in 2019, the program has served over 200 patients. Following participation in these services, patients show a more than 40% reduction in emergency department visits and the avoidance of almost 7,000 inpatient hospitalization days. As a result of these shelter-based services, the patients at KARM are leading healthier lives.Another $73,900 was distributed to underwrite professional education opportunities for staff, fund membership in the National Hospice and Palliative Care organization, provide medical/hospice housing for indigent patients, provide patient education materials, fund grief counseling services, and conduct the annual memorial service for families of deceased Hospice patients.Covenant Hospice's annual Katerpillar Kids Camp programming continued to be funded by the Foundation in 2022. Approximately $44,000 was distributed to support free weekend day camp experiences and grief support for 63 children who have experienced the death of a loved one. Approximately 125 parents, guardians, and siblings were also impacted by camp services. The annual camp provides grieving children and teens a safe, understanding environment to express their grief and learn that they are not alone in their grief journey.Just under $6,500 was distributed from the HomeCare Hope fund which assisted 225 patients in crisis with emergency funds for housing, transportation, utilities, meals, medicines/medical supplies, and funeral expenses.

Behavioral Health Care at Peninsula:In 2022, funds raised through the annual Artsclamation! fine art sale and other donations supported behavioral health care at Peninsula. Approximately $131,000 supported Peninsula's emergency room diversion project which places a team of behavioral specialists in Covenant Health emergency departments to assess patients who make repeated non-emergency visits to the emergency room. These specialists develop a personalized treatment plan for patients, proposing alternative options to visiting the ED and providing follow-up support and resources to these patients. Another $49,000 provided discharge medications to patients who need a supply of prescriptions when they leave the hospital to maintain their health until they are set up on TennCare or other payer sources for ongoing maintenance medications. Approximately $45,000 supported the placement of behavioral health staff in Covenant HomeCare's onsite clinic at Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) to provide counseling and case management services to those clients. Peninsula patients were supported with just over $10,000 in emergency assistance to help with necessary living expenses such as utilities, food, housing, and transportation.

Employee and Patient Emergency Assistance:Each year funds are contributed, primarily through Covenant Health's annual WeCare Employee Giving Campaign, to assist employees and patients in times of crisis. Support includes assistance with housing, transportation, food, clothing, medicines/medical supplies, utilities, childcare, and unexpected funeral expenses. In 2022, assistance was distributed to assist 3,708 individuals at Claiborne Medical Center (11), Covenant parent company (92), Covenant HomeCare (225), Cumberland Medical Center (19), Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (1,896), Fort Loudoun Medical Center (7), LeConte Medical Center (33), Methodist Medical Center (214), Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System (19), Parkwest Medical Center (78), Peninsula (42), Roane Medical Center (18), and Thompson Cancer Survival Center (1,054).

The Foundation supports a variety of other patient care programs throughout Covenant Health. The most significant distributions in 2022, which were directed to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, patient care scholarships, and the Fellowship Outpatient Lodging Program, are detailed below:Fort Sanders Foundation's distributions to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in 2022 primarily supported the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center. Approximately $57,000 was directed to the Center's programs and services, including staff education, upgraded rehabilitation therapy equipment, the annual operating and equipment expenses of the Innovative Recreation Cooperative which provides adaptive sports and recreation opportunities throughout the community, several patient support groups, and community brain injury and concussion education/prevention programs. An additional approximately $9,400 provided for maternal/infant education materials in both English and Spanish which are provided to new parents at discharge. Just over $4,000 was distributed to support the hospital's chaplaincy program, including the annual ethics conference and training for critical care staff.The Fellowship Outpatient Lodging Program, which is supported entirely by contributions, offers free hotel accommodations and transportation to treatment for patients and families coping with serious illnesses. The program primarily serves Thompson Cancer Survival Center patients and their families who live more than 30 miles from Knoxville. In 2022, approximately $22,700 in distributions supported the program. The program housed 62 guests in 2022 providing 223 nights of free lodging. The Foundation raises funds to support scholarships for Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center patients in need of care who do not have insurance coverage or any other ability to pay for care. Center staff vet patients both clinically and financially before selection for scholarship-funded care. Distributions of approximately $41,000 in 2022 supported patients who were provided with inpatient and outpatient care.The Foundation receives grant funds annually from the Will Rogers Institute to support pulmonary rehabilitation across Covenant Health. The grant funds provide scholarships to assist outpatient pulmonary rehab patients without insurance coverage or the ability to pay. In 2022, approximately $15,200 in funding benefited 72 patients at Roane, Parkwest, Methodist, LeConte, and Fort Sanders Regional outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation clinics.Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation patients with no insurance coverage or ability to pay are provided care through distributions from the Foundation's Lewis S. Howard Memorial Fund. Nineteen patient requests for care at the Parkwest and Fort Sanders Regional outpatient cardiac rehabilitation clinics received almost $12,000 in assistance in 2022.