• Renown Health Foundation
  • Community Partnerships

Sharing the Love: Renown Health & Hometown Health Fund Grants to Support 74 Local Non-Profit Community Organizations

August 11, 2023

Renown and many partners are working to help improve the health and well-being of northern Nevadans.

Renown Health’s mission is to make a genuine difference in the health and well-being of people and communities. Yesterday, Reno’s only not-for-profit health system celebrated local organizations with grant funding for 2023 to improve the health and well-being of our community.   

“Improving the health and wellness of an entire population of people is not easy. It is a huge task. Nevada continues to rank near the bottom of overall health rankings in the U.S. and suffers from high mortality rates for chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease,” said Brian Erling, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Renown Health. “We must continue to work with partners in the field, who share our mission- to keep people healthy, to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, and to achieve the vision of a healthier Nevada.” 

As a non-profit organization, Renown reinvests every dollar earned back to the community; in staffing, technology, treatments, training, and research to improve health and prevent illness. Yesterday, their senior leadership team took an hour to celebrate and support local not for profit partners for their efforts to improve the well-being of our community, with a boxed lunch, conversation, cake and therapy dogs from Renown’s volunteer program

“Renown Health has long-standing commitment to the community spans more than 160 years,” said Suzanne Bharati Hendery, MA, APR, Chief Communications & Customer Experience Officer for Renown. “This commitment has grown and evolved through significant thought and care in considering our community’s most pressing health needs. One way this is done is through conducting a periodic, comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The most current assessments were completed by an external health care consulting service working with Renown and include quantitative and qualitative data that serve to guide both our community benefit and strategic planning. Through the CHNA process, Renown Health has identified the greatest health needs among our communities, enabling Renown to ensure our resources are appropriately directed toward outreach, prevention, education, and wellness opportunities where the greatest impact can be realized.”

Renown’s Community Benefit grant funding process for 2023 is now complete. This is the second year of Renown’s 3-year Community Health Needs Plan that seeks to improve the priorities of Healthy Behaviors; Immunizations and Infectious Diseases; Behavioral Health (Mental Health & Substance Abuse) and Youth & Adolescent Health. 

The success of the health system’s partnerships in improving the health of Washoe County is measured in the health statistics and data that is reported at the local, state, and national level on the website, NevadaTomorrow.org

Also attending the event were key members of the Renown Health team including; Christine Bosse, Chief Government Relations Officer; Paul Harris, Chief Legal Counsel; Dr. Paul Hauptman, Chief Academic Officer-Renown and Dean, UNR School of Medicine; Dr. Rahul Mediwala, CEO, Renown Medical Group; Chris Nicholas, CEO, Renown Regional Medical Center; Dr. Bill Plauth, Chief Medical Officer & Associate Dean Clinical Affairs at UNR Med; Chuck Podesta Chief Information Officer; Sandeep Randhawa, Chief People Officer; Bethany Sexton, CEO, Hometown Health; Greg Walaitis, Chief Development Officer; Sam Weller, CEO, Renown South Meadows Medical Center and Renown Rehabilitation Hospital. 

The 74 non-profit local organizations awarded Community Health grants or sponsorships by Renown Health for 2023 include:

1. A.V.A. Ballet Theatre
2. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Northern Nevada Chapter
3. LEAD with Horses
4. National Alliance on Mental Illness Northern Nevada
5. National Alliance on Mental Illness NV
6. Nevada Area Council, Boy Scouts of America
7. Northern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition
8. The Empowerment Center
9. United Cerebral Palsy of Nevada
10. Northern Nevada Dream Center
11. Nevada State Medical Association
12. Cancer Community Clubhouse
13. Sierra Kids Foundation
14. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada
15. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
16. Nevada Corporate Giving Council
17. American Foundation of Suicide Prevention
18. American Lung Association in Nevada
19. Ashlee’s Toy Closet, Inc
20. Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada
21. Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada
22. Eddy House
23. Mammoth Hospital
24. Nevada Public Health Association
25. The Life Change Center
26. The Moonridge Foundation
27. Truckee Meadows Community College Foundation
28. University of Nevada, Reno Foundation
29. Women and Children's Center of the Sierra
30. Center for Adaptive Riding
31. City of Sparks Parks and Recreation
32. Life Is Worth It
33. Sierra Nevada Donor Awareness
34. STEP2
35. Alzheimer's Association
36. Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada
37. Nevada Military Support Alliance
38. Note-Able Music Therapy Services
39. Safe Kids Washoe County
40. Special Olympics Nevada
41. Trauma Intervention Program of Northern Nevada (TIP), Inc.
42. Reno Rodeo Foundation
43. Artown
44. Washoe County Medical Society
45. Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada
46. Tyler Robinson Foundation
47. Community Foundation of Northern Nevada
48. Truckee Meadows Tomorrow (TMT)
49. City of Reno
50. Community Health Alliance
51. Education Alliance of Washoe County
52. Forever 14
53. Make-A-Wish Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada
54. Nevada Donor Network
55. Nevada Medical Center, dba Hope Means Nevada
56. Pinocchio's Moms on the Run
57. Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Nevada, Inc. - Reno, NV
58. Safe Talk for Teens
59. Special Recreation Services, Inc.
60. Our Center
61. Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows
62. Food Bank of Northern Nevada
63. Nevada Women's Fund
64. Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation
65. Northern Nevada HOPES
66. Reno Cancer Foundation
67. Redirect Youth Outreach
68. Immunize Nevada
69. High Fives Non-Profit Foundation
70. Child Assault Prevention Project of Washoe County
71. Communities In Schools of Western Nevada
72. Quest Counseling & Consulting Inc.
73. University of Nevada, Reno Foundation
74. The Children's Cabinet


About Renown Health

Renown Health is Nevada’s largest, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and northeast California. With a diverse workforce of more than 7,000 employees, Renown has fostered a longstanding culture of excellence, determination, and innovation. The organization comprises a trauma center, two acute care hospitals, a children’s hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a medical group and urgent care network, and the locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. To join the Renown Health team, visit www.renown.org/careers

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