Saint Joseph Berea Awards Grant to Berea Home Village

BEREA, Ky. (Feb. 9, 2024) – Saint Joseph Berea has awarded a $10,000 grant to Berea Home Village, a nonprofit organization that engages the community to help Berea residents ages 50 and older to remain and live independently in their own homes. The funding will be used for the 2024 calendar year.

“Supporting Berea Home Village resonates with our core values,” said John Yanes, president, Saint Joseph Berea. “Berea Home Village’s dedication to unifying the local community regardless of status mirrors our values with a steadfast commitment to the power of collaboration, compassion and inclusion. We take great pride in providing this grant to help support those in the Berea area.”

The grant funding from Saint Joseph Berea will support the nonprofit’s village-model system that provides personalized and relationship-building services and programming that connect volunteers with adults in the community, addressing social isolation and access to health care. Berea Home Village serves primarily senior citizens who are low-income, minority and at risk for health inequity.

"We are very excited to be awarded this opportunity to offer our services to a greater number and diversity of older Bereans who need them,” said Patrick Dillon, board chair.  “Thanks to this generous grant, we can advance our mission of helping those who wish to remain and age well in their own homes, and further our vision of an entire Berea community that is committed to optimal aging for all."

Across Kentucky, CHI Saint Joseph Health awarded more than $355,000 through the grant program, which was open to nonprofit organizations that address the following priorities – substance use disorders, mental health and mental disorders, and weight status, physical activity and nutrition – through projects planned for the next calendar year. The priorities were identified in Saint Joseph Berea’s most recent community health needs assessment, which is conducted every three years to help the hospitals and community partners identify and address priority health and social needs faced by residents and the region. 

This opportunity was part of the CommonSpirit Health Community Health Improvement Grants program. CHI Saint Joseph Health and Saint Joseph Berea are part of CommonSpirit Health, created in 2019 when Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health came together to create a national health system.  

About CHI Saint Joseph Health

CHI Saint Joseph Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, is one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with 100 locations in 20 counties, including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes, home health agencies and an ambulatory Care Center. The hospitals in CHI Saint Joseph Health are Flaget Memorial Hospital, Saint Joseph Berea, Saint Joseph East, Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph Jessamine, Saint Joseph London, Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, and Women’s Hospital at Saint Joseph East. In total, the health system serves patients in 35 counties statewide. CHI Saint Joseph Health is dedicated to providing a wide array of services toward a goal of building a healthier future for all. CHI Saint Joseph Health embodies a strong mission and faith-based heritage and works through local partnerships to expand access to care in the communities it serves.

About Saint Joseph Berea

Saint Joseph Berea is a 25-bed critical access hospital located in Berea, Kentucky. Established in 1898 on the grounds of Berea College, the facility serves residents of Madison, Estill, Garrard, Jackson and Rockcastle counties. Saint Joseph Berea recognizes the importance of family, friends and familiar surroundings in the healing process and provides a breadth of services so that getting first-rate care doesn’t have to mean being far from home.

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