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 2023, $213,958 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 300 patients. Following participation in these services, patients show a 40% reduction in emergency department visits and the avoidance of 9,840 inpatient hospitalization days. As a result of these shelter-based services, the patients at KARM are leading healthier lives.Another $62,065 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 2023. Approximately $35,000 was distributed to support free weekend day camp experiences and grief support for some 80 children who have experienced the death of a loved one. Approximately 150 patients, 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 $8,800 was distributed from the HomeCare Hope fund which assisted 200 patients in crisis with emergency funds for housing, transportation, utilities, meals, medicines/medical supplies, and funeral expenses.

Behavioral Health Care at Peninsula:In 2023, funds raised through the annual Artsclamation! fine art sale and other donations supported behavioral health care at Peninsula. Funds 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. Additional funds 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. Donations also 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 emergency funding assistance to help with necessary living expenses such as utilities, housing, medications 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 2023, assistance was distributed to assist 3,996 individuals at Claiborne Medical Center (10), Covenant parent company (107), Covenant HomeCare (200), Cumberland Medical Center (14), Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (2,087), Fort Loudoun Medical Center (5), LeConte Medical Center (37), Methodist Medical Center (151), Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System (44), Parkwest Medical Center (70), Peninsula (51), Roane Medical Center (24), and Thompson Cancer Survival Center (1,196).

The Foundation supports a variety of other patient care programs throughout Covenant Health. The most significant distributions in 2023, which were directed to Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Hospitals and outpatient clinics, the Fellowship Outpatient Lodging Program, cardiopulmonary programs, Cumberland Medical Center, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Roane Medical Center, Parkwest Medical Center, the Fort Sanders Dept. of Nursing at Tennessee Wesleyan College, and Fort Loudoun Medical Center, are outlined below:Distributions to support Patricia Neal therapy programs and services in 2023 included approximately $67,000 for patients in need of care who do not have insurance coverage or any other ability to pay for care, $13,000 for staff education and advanced certifications, $35,000 for the annual operating and equipment expenses of the Innovative Recreation Cooperative which provides adaptive sports and recreation opportunities throughout the community, and $40,000 for a Bioness integrated therapy system, as well as funding for several patient support groups and community brain injury and concussion education/prevention programs. 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 2023, $19,000 in distributions supported the program. The program housed 31 guests in 2023 providing 187 nights of free lodging. 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 2023, approximately $17,000 in funding benefited patients at Roane, Methodist, LeConte, and Fort Sanders Regional outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation clinics.Just over $13,000 in donations were distributed to Cumberland Medical Center, primarily to provide cancer patient assistance and patient education materials.Just over $12,000 was distributed to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, including $5,500 the hospital's chaplaincy program, annual ethics conference and training for critical care staff.