Two years ago, Maria’s then 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia; devastating news made all the more difficult because Maria does not speak English. Fortunately, the bilingual clinicians at Ann’s Place in Danbury, Connecticut, a nonprofit organization providing cancer support and assistance, were able to step in, review her daughter’s medical records, and help Maria to better understand the disease and recommended how she could better work with her daughter’s doctors. Maria also regularly attended one of the organization’s support groups, where she was able to share her journey with other Spanish-speaking cancer patients and their family members.

Ann’s Place, serving residents in Western Connecticut and New York’s Hudson Valley, is among 11 nonprofit organizations to receive funding through Medline’s 2022 Community Impact Grant Program. This year’s program grants, totaling $250,000, are supporting organizations providing housing, meals, prison healthcare monitoring, clothing, cancer counseling and other services. Since 2018, Medline has donated more than $2 million to 236 nonprofit organizations, all addressing social determinants of health—the economic and social conditions that impact disparities in health status and care, as well as life expectancy.

At Ann’s Place, Medline’s grant will help the organization provide continued support to patients and families living with breast and other cancers. The organization offers general cancer support groups, breast cancer support groups, and through its Health Equity Initiative (HEI), support groups led by Spanish-speaking clinicians: Viviendo con Fe for cancer patients and Yo Amo y Cuido for caretakers. The organization also provides financial assistance for gas, food, rent, utilities, car/transportation and other day-to-day expenses that can become difficult to pay for when a family member has cancer.

“We are so grateful for these funds from Medline to help underserved families facing cancer,” said Shannon Cobb, CEO of Ann’s Place. “There are so many barriers to cancer patients and their families in this area when they need affordable mental health care and other support, especially in Spanish. With these funds we will be able to offer wrap-a-round support including counseling and wellness programs for families facing this terrible disease.”

2022 Medline Community Impact Grant recipients

The other 2022 Medline Community Impact Grant recipients, and how they will utilize their funding, are as follows:

• Chicago Urban League will conduct focus groups on chronic disease, childhood obesity, mental health, substance abuse, additions and infections, to ensure that barriers to basic healthcare are identified, understood and properly linked to available resources.
• Covenant House Illinois will support the organization’s youth program, focused on moving young people from the street into stable and permanent housing while reducing violence and future adverse health outcomes.
• Cradles to Crayons will provide at least 210,000 packages of goods to children from low-income households across the Chicago area, helping to close the health and education equity gaps that are disproportionately affecting individuals experiencing poverty.
• Ellie Fund will support the organization’s Equitable Pathways program, helping to support the growing need for the “lifesaving support services that women – and particularly women of color – need to survive and heal from breast cancer.”
• Hospitality Homes, Inc. will support immune-safe lodging for low-income patients and families seeking healthcare in Boston.
• John Howard Association will fund the organization’s Prison Monitoring & Advocacy program, monitoring access to and the quality of prison healthcare for incarcerated adults and and juveniles.
• Lake County Haven will provide women and children experiencing homelessness with direct, professional services designed to help them develop the tools and resources needed to and maintain secure healthy, safe and stable housing.
• Project Angel Heart will prepare and home deliver nearly 400,000 “medically-tailored meals” to more than 2,400 low-income Coloradans living with severe illness.
• Regional East Texas Food Bank will support the organization’s Mobile Pantry Program, benefitting individuals and families in targeted census tracts and rural East Texas communities with high levels of need.
• YWCA of Asheville and Western North Carolina, Inc. will support pregnant and parenting teens, ages 13 to 19, through the organization’s MotherLove program.

“Medline is honored to support these nonprofit organizations and the indispensable programs they provide to individuals and families disproportionately impacted by social determinants of health,” said Karen Frey, Medline senior philanthropy manager. “The challenges facing our communities are never-ending and, in some, growing exponentially. We hope the funds granted will have a direct impact on improving health equity and population health in low-resource communities.”

The Community Impact Grant program is just one of the many ways that Medline is helping to address social determinants of health in the U.S. and throughout the world. In 2020, the company launched the Medline Cares (Community, Action, Resources, Education and Solutions) program, to stimulate health equity and improve population health in the communities where Medline employees live and work. Medline also partners with global humanitarian organizations to identify and deliver much-needed medical supplies to clinics and communities. Between 2018 and 2021, Medline donated nearly 1,000 metric tons of medical supplies, valued at approximately $13 million, to support healthcare in more than 80 countries. More recently, the company resumed international health trips, helping to create medical supply inventory and supply chain solutions.

Learn more about the many ways that Medline is working to create positive social and environmental change, here and around the world.