OAHHS Hospital Voice Fall/Winter 2019

9 Fall/Winter 2019 The program also provides other supports such as respite care for the parents. There is a classroom at the center children go twice a week for therapeutic learning. “We focus on the child’s emotional well-being,” said Hoffman. She said the program is evidence based, and offers services to over 50 students at any given time, with referrals often coming from substance abuse treatment programs. Pioneer Relief Nursery operates out of a building owned by St. Anthony Hospital. “It’s part of our calling and mission to keep families together,” said CEO Harry Geller. In addition to providing the previously empty out- patient facility to house the program on a $1 per year lease, St. Anthony pays the utility bills as well. Geller said the hospital supports a number of programs, including Pioneer Relief Nursery, Community Health Outreach, and a domestic violence prevention program, all of which he says do “a fantastic job.” Those upstream efforts show the hospital’s commitment to population health. “We are reaching out beyond the four walls of the hospital,” said Geller. “We have an unwavering concern for societal health as a whole.” Geller said he and other hospital leaders must also balance that concern with their commitment and responsibility to maintain the financial health of their facilities. “There’s never enough money” to meet all the needs in the community, he said. “We all understand the need to improve population health,” said Geller. “We are all driven to do so within available financial resources.” In the meantime, staff and volunteers at these and other community health programs will keep doing all they can, one person at a time.