News to Use: Spring 2024
Welcome Spring! I want to pass on just a few pieces of information to keep you current on the happenings at St. Mary’s Health Clinics (SMHC).
These past few months have been both exciting and challenging for St. Mary’s Health Clinics and our patients.
They have been exciting because we’ve launched a new chapter in our fund-raising efforts. We’ve hired Ralph Scorpio, who many of you may know from his years with the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministries Foundation, to lead our fund-raising efforts. Ralph joins us with great knowledge and appreciation of St. Mary’s Health Clinics, and he looks forward to working with you to help sustain our work.
And they’ve been challenging because racial threats and immigration raids are frightening our patients, leading many to avoid enrolling in services eligible to them, reconsider their appointments, and delay necessary health care. Committed grants from the Department of Health are now uncertain, potentially causing large gaps in our operating budget. And inflation and economic uncertainty are reeking havoc on our patients’ family budgets.
As the health-care ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Mary’s Health Clinics has a long track record of helping people when they need it most, and our responsiveness and value as a community resource is well-known in the Twin Cities area. For decades, we have walked with the disenfranchised, befriended the sick, and provided services to those without resources, always acting with justice and equity.
In fact, in the past year, St. Mary’s Health Clinics has provided free healthcare and health education to more than 2,000 uninsured patients throughout the Twin Cities, as well as:
5,900+ patient visits at more than 500 clinic sessions at 6 metro locations
More than 30,000 persons in the Twin Cities and outlying communities served with health screens, health education, referral sources, flu vaccine and Covid screening and vaccine services
More than 3,000 specialty procedure referrals
Approximately 7,000 volunteer hours from hundreds of healthcare professionals.
Your support is essential for St. Mary’s Health Clinics to remain strong and responsive to the needs of our patients, who truly have nowhere else to turn.
Please help us by making a direct gift on-line at https://www.stmaryshealthclinics.org/donate or by using the enclosed envelope. You can trust us to use your gift efficiently and effectively, and it will make a hopeful difference in the lives of the thousands we serve.
So, you can see that spring will keep us hopping and moving forward! Our Board of Directors is also very involved in strategic planning as we look down the road at our future. More information will follow as it evolves.