Local organizations awarded Rural Healthcare Grants

     Six Eastern Iowa rural organizations are the recipients of $19,800 in grants as part of UnityPoint health – St. Luke’s Foundation’s Rural Healthcare Grant Program.

     The program started in 1980 and has awarded more than 200 grants totaling $448,400 to support emergency medical and transportation services in Benton, Cedar, Delaware, Iowa, northern Johnson, Jones, and Linn counties.

     In the early 1980s, Iowa was in the farm crisis with real estate values plummeting, farm foreclosures, and an overall sense of uncertainty. St. Luke’s Foundation’s Board of Directors recognized this put a strain on small rural communities, especially their emergency medical services (EMS). The Foundation’s idea was to award small grants to rural EMS organizations to help them purchase equipment and provide funding for training/education. In the first year, the Foundation awarded three grants for $2,050.

     Of those who received a Rural Healthcare Grant were:

     • Jones County Volunteer Center to fund transportation expenses for volunteer drivers

     • Monticello Ambulance Service to purchase one Stryker Ambulance Stair Chair