San Andreas, CA…Mark Twain Medical Center (MTMC) recently awarded six local organizations the Dignity Heath Mark Twain Medical Center Community Grant for 2022, totaling over $53,000. The funds are directed for serving home bound seniors, providing support and services to those in a portion of the remote areas, AED’s and CPR training for residents and enriching the grounds of the community park.. The six organizations awarded are; Common Ground Senior Services, S&S Media, Calaveras Senior Support Services, Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District, Mountain Ranch Youth Alliance and Resource Center/Food Bank and the Mountain Ranch Community Center/Park (MRCC).

The newly funded 2022 Grant Project is called: ‘Enhancing Your Health at Home.’ The local partners will be focusing on tools to support, enhance the health and wellbeing of lower-income and homebound seniors primarily living in isolated or remote areas of Calaveras County.

Common Ground Senior Services, Calaveras Senior Support Services and S & S Media will develop, promote, and distribute a series of five videos using informative storytelling. This project will produce a 5-part video that will be between 30 to 45 minutes each in length. Topics will cover easy planning and preparation of nutritional meals; Helpful ways to improve wellbeing and reduce health anxieties; Simple activities to improve wellbeing through body movement and brain stimulation; various ways to engage and stay connected in a rural environment; and rural resources that are available to homebound and/or isolated older adults.

Over the course of 12 months, as each video production is completed, it will be made available for distribution through Public Access TV, YouTube, the websites, and other social media platforms of our collaborating partners. The series will also be available on CDs and USB drives. The 5-part video series will be available, at no cost to medical professionals, older adults, family members, caregivers, friends, libraries, church groups, and various community organization serving the older adult population.

Additional funding was available this year that provided ongoing support to the project: ‘The Greater Access Initiative’.

The three organizations awarded for this initiative are; Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue Protection District, Mountain Ranch Youth Alliance and Resource Center/Food Bank and the Mountain Ranch Community Center/Park (MRCC).

These local organizations will focus on projects that will provide both continued and new access for the Mountain Ranch Community. They will focus on improving the health vulnerabilities of Access to Primary and Specialty Care, Behavioral Health, Cardio Vascular Disease and Older Adult Health, which were identified in the MTMC 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment.

This funding will continue to focus on with improving access to care through computer technology; higher quality food through the Food Pantry; providing a no cost space for exercise and recreate to improve cardiac health at the park; and appropriately trained volunteers with the appropriate tools to improve patient outcomes; and rescue equipment to improve patient outcomes prior to transfer to the hospital.

“Having the ability to award these local organizations funding represents the progress of the genuine collective work that happens daily in Calaveras County. “There is a deep commitment in this community, which for me serves as a great reminder to us all- that even in the midst of the struggles of the past two years in our world, we are still a community that cares deeply for one another, “remarked MTMC President and CEO Doug Archer. “On behalf of all of staff we are honored to partner and serve those who entrust us in their care and the many great local organizations that strive to make our communities healthy and an enjoyable and wonderful place to live.”

All six of these well-deserved grant awardees contribute toward improving upon the health vulnerabilities as identified in our Community Health Needs Assessment. Access to Primary and Specialty Care, Behavioral Health, Cardio Vascular Disease and Older Adult Health are the four significant needs that have been identified in our 2019 report.”

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About Mark Twain Medical Center
Founded in 1951, Mark Twain Medical Center is a 25-bed, critical access hospital providing inpatient acute care, outpatient services and emergency services. The Medical Center’s Medical Staff represents a broad range of specialties that ensure access to high quality medical care in a rural community. In addition to being a major provider of health services, Mark Twain Medical Center is also one of the area’s largest employers. More than 300 people are employed at the hospital and its five Family Medical Centers. The Medical Center is a member of Dignity Health and a part of CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the nation dedicated to advancing health for all and serving communities in 21 states. For more information, please visit our website at. Mark Twain Medical Center is also on Facebook.