For Immediate  Release	Contact: Tiffany Himmelreich
November 2, 2002	614-221-7614
	tiffanyh@ohanet.org

Ohio Hospitals Award Grants for Better Breathing

COLUMBUS – Nearly $220,000 is being awarded to 15 hospitals throughout Ohio to assist persons suffering from severe chronic pulmonary disease. The Foundation for Healthy Communities, a charitable arm of the Ohio Hospital Association, approved grants for pulmonary rehabilitation at large and small institutions. About two-thirds of the grants were renewals of successful efforts last fall to provide support for costly pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

The distribution of these Funds is a continuation of the foundation’s distribution of more than $2 million received from the Ohio Public Health Priorities Trust Fund created out of the national tobacco settlement.  The grants are to be applied toward improving the quality of life for those who may have been negatively affected by tobacco products. Hospitals will offer pulmonary patients services that teach breathing techniques, proper nutrition, modified exercise and transportation to get patients to their regular appointments and exercise activities.

“The optimal way to use these funds is to get people involved in rehabilitation during the early stages of their disease. That way, all the services over an 8-to-10 week program can work together to increase lung capacity and improve the mental outlook of the patients,” said Lynne Ayres, director of the foundation.

The health care institutions awarded first-time grants are as follows:

• Euclid Hospital, $10,000
• Hardin Memorial Hospital in Kenton, $15,000
• Lakewood Hospital, $15,000
• Lima Memorial Hospital, $14,580

These institutions are receiving renewal grants:

• Adena Health System in Chillicothe, $14,900
• Bucyrus Community Hospital, $15,000
• East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, $15,000
• Flower Hospital in Sylvania, $15,000
• Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, $15,000
• Ohio State University Center For Wellness & Prevention in Columbus $15,000
• Salem Community Hospital, $15,000
• South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights, $15,000
• St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee, $15,000
• Summa Health System in Akron, $15,000
• Wooster Community Hospital, $15,000

The Foundation for Healthy Communities was created and endowed by Ohio hospitals in 1994 to promote creative collaboration for better health. It encourages hospitals and health systems to move beyond traditional roles of healing illness and injury and develop promising methods for promoting healthy lifestyles.

The Foundation is sponsored by the Ohio Hospital Association, which represents more than 170 hospitals and 40 health systems with more than 200,000 employees throughout Ohio. OHA’s mission is to provide leadership. OHA works with its members in meeting the health care needs and improving health status of the communities they serve. Learn more about OHA and the Foundation for Healthy Communities at www.ohanet.org. 

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