St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP) is proud to announce it has received nearly $2 million in grant funding from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation in 2024, supporting five vital programs aimed at improving patient care in the areas of mental health and behavioral health, enhancing Hospice and bereavement services in rural areas, addressing food insecurity, and growing programming to provide crime victim education and resources.
“We are so very grateful to the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation for these grants, which will allow us to further our mission of providing compassionate, high-quality care to the communities we serve,” said Kim Baker, Senior Vice President of Hospital Operations at St. Peter’s Health Partners. “Thanks to Mother Cabrini Health Foundation’s dedication to improving health equity and addressing barriers to care, we can expand vital programs in mental and behavioral health, bereavement support, food security, and crime victim education services, all in service of strengthening both our health system and the well-being of our region.”
“We are deeply honored by the wide-ranging impact of our work and by the dedication of our grantees across New York State. We’re inspired by the compassionate legacy of Mother Frances Cabrini, as this year marks a significant milestone in our grantmaking, as we surpassed $1 billion in grants since our founding,” said Msgr. Gregory Mustaciuolo, Chief Executive Officer of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. “This moment fuels our commitment as a Foundation to look toward the future, where we will continue making bold investments in a healthier, more equitable future for all.”
The grants to St. Peter’s Health Partners included:
Safety Enhancements for Behavioral Health Units
A $800,000 grant will enable St. Peter’s to advance patient safety and care by enhancing its mental health units with the implementation of ligature reduction measures and ligature-resistant furniture, as well as evidence-based therapies like music therapy, chair yoga, and sensory therapies to promote healing and well-being. These efforts aim to enhance care for more than 1,700 individuals annually, primarily Medicaid beneficiaries and other underserved populations.
Expanded Suicide Prevention Outreach
Thanks to a $110,000 grant, SPHP will extend suicide prevention training to clinicians across nine substance use disorder clinics and 21 primary care sites. The initiative includes workforce education, distribution of safety kits, and implementation of evidence-based safety planning interventions. This project seeks to improve outcomes for at-risk individuals and their families.
Healing Our Community: Food Farmacy Continuation
Renewed funding in the amount of $600,000 will sustain SPHP’s Food Farmacy initiative, which improves health outcomes for vulnerable populations by addressing food insecurity. The funding will expand partnerships with community-based organizations in order to increase outreach to vulnerable populations, including refugees, seniors, and low-income families. Over the next three years, the program will continue to provide nutritious food and related support to individuals with chronic health conditions.
Expanded Bereavement and Hospice Support
This $150,000 grant supports the Community Hospice program’s outreach to rural communities, offering bereavement counseling, advance care planning, and complementary therapies. Services will benefit more than 750 individuals, including seniors and grieving youth, helping them navigate loss and improving their quality of life.
Crime Victim Prevention Education
With $300,000 in funding, St. Peter’s will continue to grow its efforts to provide crime victim prevention education and resources. Since 1979, St. Peter’s Crime Victim Services has worked to support and empower survivors of crime as they begin their recovery. Since its start as a grassroots sexual assault crisis center for Rensselaer County, our program has grown to offer a variety of services to survivors of all types of crime across New York’s Capital Region. This funding will help us in our ongoing efforts to equip individuals and communities with the knowledge and tools to address and prevent victimization.
Our sister hospital system, St. Joseph’s Health in Syracuse, was also the recipient of nearly $650,000 in grants from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. Thanks to Mother Cabrini’s generosity, St. Joseph’s will be expanding vital programs in workforce development, maternal health, and food security.
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About St. Peter’s Health Partners
With 11,000 employees in more than 185 locations, St. Peter’s Health Partners is one of the Capital Region’s largest and most comprehensive not-for-profit integrated health care networks, and provides high-quality, compassionate, and sophisticated care to thousands of people every day. It includes St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates, which has more than 850 physicians and advanced practitioners in more than 130 locations. St. Peter’s Health Partners is a member of Trinity Health, one of the nation’s largest Catholic health systems. For more information, please visit www.SPHP.com.
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
About The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of vulnerable communities, eliminate barriers to care and bridge gaps in health services. Named after a tireless advocate for immigrants, children and the poor, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation funds programs and initiatives across New York state that either provide direct healthcare services or address the social determinants of health.
