The Perrysburg Rotary Club has contributed $50,000 to establish a new Perrysburg Rotary Club Endowed Patient Assistance Fund, which will assist patients receiving care at Mercy Health - Perrysburg Hospital. The $50,000 will be paid to Mercy Health in two $25,000 installments over a two-year period beginning this November.
According to Lorena Gloden, President of the Perrysburg Rotary Club Board, “The fund was precipitated by a grant request to the club from Mercy Health - Toledo. In July, Rotarian Sandy Snyder submitted a grant request on behalf of the Mercy Health Foundation. The Perrysburg Rotary Board spent many hours reviewing the request and documentation for creating the endowment before the grant submission was submitted for final board review and a vote in September. After careful consideration, the Perrysburg Rotary Club Board voted to approve the grant request and passed along their recommendation that the grant be approved by the Perrysburg Rotary Service Foundation.”
“This is the largest contribution in the history of our club to a 501(c)(3) organization,” said Jack Sculfort, Perrysburg Rotary Service Foundation Chair. “Our club’s foundation board received the grant request from Mercy Health and did our due diligence to determine if it was something we should act on. Based on the information that was provided to us in the grant request, along with Mercy Health’s excellent long-standing reputation for health care, our foundation’s board voted to proceed.”
In the grant request, Mercy Health wrote: ‘Mercy Health - Perrysburg Hospital opened in 2019, and shortly thereafter we went through the COVID pandemic. Now, as things are getting back to normal, we are seeing more patients and with that comes more patients who need financial assistance. This fund would financially assist patients with things like transportation to/from the hospital, certain procedures, prescription drugs, and some medical equipment. This is not just for patients who are non-insured or underinsured. Our team does an amazing job working with insurance companies and other providers to exhaust every option before using the patient assistance fund.’
“The initial gift of $50,000 from Perrysburg Rotary Club and its Foundation will yield approximately $2,500 annually for patients, giving the patients at Mercy Health - Perrysburg Hospital a much-needed resource,” said Sandy Snyder, a Perrysburg Rotarian, and Director of the Mercy Health – Toledo Foundation. She noted that similar funds exist at Mercy Health’s other hospital locations. “This endowment will help patients when they are at their most vulnerable.”
“Our Perrysburg Rotary Club and Perrysburg Rotary Service Foundation have a long history of contributing to local and international projects,” said Sculfort. “Our club’s Foundation abides by strict Internal Revenue Service rules, which limits us to making contributions only to 501(c)(3) organizations, charitable organizations, or the government. “Mercy Health – Perrysburg Hospital’s grant request fit those parameters.”
The Perrysburg Rotary Club is incredibly excited and proud to establish this new community partnership. We look forward to supporting our friends and neighbors for years to come!