McLeod Health Foundation Receives $1,145,000 in Grants from The Duke Endowment

The McLeod Health Foundation has received two grants from The Duke Endowment totaling $1,145,000 to expand the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program and to support staffing costs for the new Pediatric Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Unit.
The first grant for $565,000 will expand the current Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program to serve victims presenting to McLeod Health’s rural hospitals. By training Emergency Department staff to facilitate forensic medical examinations and utilizing high quality equipment, McLeod SANE staff members will ensure remote exams and evidence collection processes are of the same caliber as in-person exams at McLeod Regional Medical Center and McLeod Health Carolina Forest. This initiative will be the first of its kind in the Carolinas and one of a small handful across the nation.
The second grant for $580,000 will support staffing costs at the new Pediatric Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Unit in the McLeod Children’s Hospital for its first two years. The EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing) model is an innovative form of healthcare delivery centered on stabilization and rapid improvement. Everything about the unit, from the furniture to the open floorplan and favorable staff-to-patient ratios, is designed to lower anxiety and promote decompression. The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SC DHHS) recently funded the construction of EmPATH units across the state, but the unit at McLeod is one of the very few exclusively pediatric units.
“We are grateful for The Duke Endowment’s trust and continued support of our initiatives at McLeod Health,” says Elizabeth Jones, Executive Director of the McLeod Health Foundation. “This grant funding will allow our McLeod teams to care for patients at the most vulnerable moments in their lives.”
“The Duke Endowment is proud to partner with the McLeod Health Foundation to support these two initiatives,” said Lin Hollowell, Director of Health Care at The Duke Endowment. “Ensuring access to timely and appropriate health care and having basic health care needs met are critical to reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for people that McLeod Health serves across the Carolinas.”
These grants support the mission of McLeod Health, which is to improve the overall health and well-being of people living within South Carolina and eastern North Carolina by providing excellence in health care.
About The Duke Endowment
Based in Charlotte and established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, The Duke Endowment is a private foundation that strengthens communities in North Carolina and South Carolina by nurturing children, promoting health, educating minds and enriching spirits. Since its founding, it has distributed more than $5 billion in grants. The Endowment shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy, but all are separate organizations.
About McLeod Health Foundation
The McLeod Foundation was established in 1986 as an independent not for profit tax exempt charitable organization whose mission is to generate philanthropic and community support to perpetuate medical excellence at McLeod Health. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the Foundation has raised more than $100 million and has provided support for numerous programs at McLeod Health. These programs include support for the McLeod Children's Hospital, The Guest House at McLeod, McLeod Hospice, the McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research, McLeod Heart and Vascular Institute and McLeod Diabetes Services, just to name a few. Simply put the Foundation funds better health for thousands of families throughout Northeastern South Carolina and Southeastern North Carolina. Separately chartered, the McLeod Health Foundation is governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees. Gifts to the McLeod Foundation are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law and 100 percent of every gift received goes directly to the area it is designated.