The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

MultiCare’s Community Partnership Fund Awards $600,000 to Local Organizations in 2020

By

TACOMA, Wash. — MultiCare Health System’s Community Partnership Fund today announced it has awarded $600,000 in 2020 to more than 75 Pierce, King and Thurston county organizations focused on addressing housing, food insecurity, health care and children’s needs in its communities.

“We know that a person’s health status is heavily influenced by having a safe place to live, and food to eat,” said Lois Bernstein, chief community executive for MultiCare Health System. “We are proud to partner with these organizations and work collaboratively to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve.”

The fund is part of MultiCare’s focus on building enduring partnerships that contribute to the health and vitality of its community. In 2020, MultiCare awarded grants to programs such as:

  • Medical Teams International, providing emergency dental care in King and Pierce counties for those without resources;
  • South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, providing critical home repairs to low income families in Thurston County;
  • Emergency Food Network, providing food to local food banks in Pierce County.

“Many of these organizations provide critical services, such as shelter and food for those in need, and childcare for the children of first responders and health care workers,” said Bernstein. “We are thankful for the work that these organizations do in our community, and we want to help them continue their work, particularly during this uncertain time.”

MultiCare’s Community Partnership Fund has given more than $3 million in its first six years to hundreds of community groups across Washington to support programs that improve the health and economic well-being of communities. To learn more about the Community Partnership Fund, visit multicare.org/communitypartnership. The full list of 2020 recipients for the Puget Sound region is located at multicare.org/2020-puget-sound-recipients.

Separately from the Community Partnership Fund allocations, MultiCare announced a $1 million donation in early April to help support other community organizations providing critical services such as shelter and food for those in need in Pierce County, South King County and the Inland Northwest region during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About MultiCare

MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization with more than 18,000 team members, including employees, providers and volunteers. MultiCare has been caring for our community for well over a century, since the founding of Tacoma’s first hospital and today is the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state of Washington.

MultiCare’s comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and specialty services — including MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, Pulse Heart Institute and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic, the largest multispecialty clinic in the Inland Northwest region.

MultiCare’s network of care includes 10 hospitals: