Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Bowse Health Trust (BHT) committee is pleased to announce funding for three important projects over the next three years. The Rutland Pride Center, Companions in Wholeness, and the Rutland Free Clinic have been awarded funds to implement important projects in our community. Each project addresses priority needs identified in the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment with a focus on improving health equity in the areas of Housing, Childcare and Parenting, Mental Health, and Supporting the Aging Community.
Companions for Wholeness: Caring for Our Neighbors
Companions In Wholeness serves people who are food insecure in the Rutland region, including individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. This non-profit organization provides a free hot breakfast and a cold lunch to those in need. Bowse Health Trust funds will support the continuation of feeding our neighbors and provide people with the essentials necessary to live in our community. This project will provide further collaboration with partners like Vermont Department of Health and the Rutland Free Clinic, who come to Companions in Wholeness to “meet people where they are” and provide needed services.
Rutland County Free Clinic: Strengthening Capacity
Providing access to care for the most vulnerable in our community is at the core of the Rutland County Free Clinic’s work. Bowse Health Trust funding will support an increase in clinical care for walk-in needs at the clinic’s new location. Currently clinic hours rely on volunteer availability. Bowse Health Trust funding will enable a registered nurse position at the Rutland Free Clinic, to support walk-in patients who will be given care or triaged and referred to the appropriate services in our community.
Rutland County Pride, Inc.: Rutland County Pride Center
This transformative project is poised to advance health equity and ensure geographic access to comprehensive services for the LGBTQIA2S+ population in southern Vermont. Rutland County Pride. Inc. will use Bowse Health Trust funding to offer a range of vital services, including the provision of safe and affirming space, mental health support groups, on-site healthcare services, and welcoming community events.
For more than twenty-five years Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Bowse Health Trust has awarded grant funds to collaborative community programs which measurably improve the health of Rutland County residents. The selection process engages a wide variety of community leaders to choose new innovative programs that help improve the health of our community. Ongoing reflection and collaboration with the Bowse Health Trust Committee helps agencies to secure second and third year funding, as grant awards are based on grantees’ attainment of goals and outcomes.
The three new grantees join the current grant recipients and the past sixty plus programs funded by the Bowse Health Trust aimed at improving the lives of Rutland County residents. The opening of the next grant cycle will be announced in April2024, as grants are awarded on an annual basis. To view the Bowse Health Trust Annual Report and the application information, please visit www.rrmc.org/about/bowse-trust; or for more information, please contact Jamie Bentley at 802-282-9585 or email [email protected].
About the James T. Bowse Health Trust: Rutland Regional Medical Center established the Bowse Health Trust in 1996 to fund collaborative, community-based programs aimed at creating a healthier community. A resolution by the Rutland Regional Health Services (RRHS) Board of Directors renamed this initiative in memory of James T. Bowse, President/CEO of Rutland Regional and RRHS. After Jim died unexpectedly on June 17, 1997. He came to Rutland Regional in 1989 and, during his tenure, maintained an active interest in the health and wellness of the community. Jim was instrumental in establishing the trust in the fall of 1996. In naming the trust after Jim, we recognize the contributions he made to our community. Since then, the Bowse Health Trust has funded $4.5M to 64 programs in the Rutland Region. Current members of the volunteer Health Trust Committee include Joan Gamble, Chair; Renee Bousquet, Vice-chair; Mary Beerworth; Kate Bosnich; Nanci Gordon; Doug Norford; and Lisa Ryan.
About Rutland Regional Medical Center: Rutland Regional is the largest community hospital in Vermont and is supported by a medical staff of 256 physicians, nurse practitioners and advanced practice providers trained in 37 specialty areas. The 144-bed hospital is supported by approximately 1,700 employees. With a strong patient-centered focus, consistent quality performance, Magnet® Nursing Recognition, and award-winning care, Rutland Regional remains dedicated to improving the health of families and individuals throughout portions of southern and central Vermont and communities in eastern New York State with preventative, diagnostic, acute and rehabilitative services.
Source: 12.14.2023. RUTLAND, VT — Rutland Regional Medical Center www.rrmc.org
