St.
David’s Foundation
In 1996, a unique partnership between St. David's Foundation and Hospital Corporation of America created St. David's HealthCare, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-winning hospital system that now has seven hospitals in addition to surgery centers and free-standing emergency centers. The Foundation reinvests proceeds from St. David's HealthCare to serve a five-county area in Central Texas that includes Austin.
The Foundation's signature programs include the largest scholarship program in Texas for aspiring health professionals and largest mobile dental program in the country. Annual grants to more than 60 agencies also support safety net clinics, older adults, and mental health and healthy living initiatives. The foundation works closely with grant partners to strengthen their organizational infrastructures through a growing capacity building program and comprehensive data analytics, with the goal of deepening their effectiveness using measurable outcomes.
The Foundation feels philanthropy can play a key role in meeting pressing needs. According to its CEO Earl Maxwell, "Our belief that good health returns great benefits to our community guides our grant-making toward initiatives that affect the broader health of the region. We have a responsibility to monitor changing needs, as well as to help create and financially support innovative ideas that address those needs. Philanthropy can play a role in providing key seed money to get a project off the ground, and it can also be the catalyst that encourages collaboration and others to get on board."
With total assets of $750 million and $65 million dedicated to health related grants in 2015, the foundation is making a significant impact in its targeted areas of need, which include:
- Health Care Workforce Development: To build the health care work force in Central Texas, nearly 500 scholarships have been awarded in addition to a loan repayment program through St. David's Public Health Corps. Additional investments include funding for nursing and health science programs at the regions higher education programs to train health care workers at all levels.
- Innovative Mental Health Crisis Center: This project fills a mental health services gap by providing treatment for persons with a short-term mental health crisis, instead of going to less appropriate options such as an emergency room, psychiatric hospital or jail. The grant supports building and operating the facility. Central Health, the local health district, contributed the land for the project.
- St. David's Dental Program: The dental program travels to high-need schools and clinics in three counties. Nine vans are each staffed by licensed professionals and equipped with two dental exam rooms. In 2014, more than 10,000 children and adults received free dental care through the program.
- Increasing Access to Primary Care: Funding will allow People's Community Clinic, a safety net clinic, to renovate a recently purchased building into a state-of-the-art clinic and more than double its capacity to serve as a medical home for thousands of low-income families and individuals ($10 million).
- Environmental Change: The Butler Hike and Bike Trail borders 10 miles of Lady Bird Lake shoreline in downtown Austin. More than 1.5 million people walk, run or bike it each year. Funding enables The Trail Foundation to complete a boardwalk project that connects the trail over land and water, giving families in underserved areas access to a free, safe place to exercise and enjoy nature.
Last Updated On
April 16, 2015
Originally Published On
April 16, 2015