Taking Care to People Where They Live

Presented by Lanna Scannell, CFRE, Director of Strategic Philanthropy, OSF HealthCare Foundation

The nagging feeling of hunger can be debilitating. For a child, or a worried parent, it is even worse. Perhaps it is not hunger, perhaps it is a heartfelt desire to afford and have access to healthier food. Food insecurity is a problem facing many people in our communities. The Faith Community Nursing Program, OSF mobile Care-A-Van, and St. Ann’s Garden of Hope are helping to address this challenge and ensuring access for all to quality healthcare and healthy food options.

The OSF Faith Community Nursing program is staffed by professional nurses who focus on care of the spirit, as well as the promotion of holistic health and prevention to minimize illness within a faith community. Partnering with clergy and healthcare organizations, nurses interact with more than 40,000 people each year, advocating for the well-being of a congregation.

Traveling throughout the Central Illinois region, the OSF Care-A-Van is a mobile health center staffed by caregivers from OSF HealthCare and its Faith Community Nursing Program. Caregivers connect residents with access to screenings, immunizations, and health education and assist with tasks such as signing up for health coverage and exploring advanced care planning. During the pandemic when many shelters and food pantries were forced to shut down, the Care-A-Van continued to offer free care, making over 4,000 referrals to providers, local agencies, and support services.

Growing every year, St. Ann’s Garden of Hope provides a place where people from across the community and all walks of life can gather to build friendships, beautify their neighborhood, and promote good nutrition by growing healthy food.

Last year during the pandemic, close to seven tons of fresh produce were distributed to local individuals and food pantries, impacting nearly 15,000 people. Earlier this year, with philanthropic support, OSF began construction on a 1,500 square foot greenhouse that will allow for fresh fruits and vegetables to be grown and distributed all year ‘round. The garden and greenhouse will also play an important role in the new OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute, which will feature a Teaching Kitchen to offer hands-on education around proper nutrition to manage and prevent cancer and chronic diseases.

Planned gifts, given through a person’s Will or estate, are a wonderful way to support these and other areas within the OSF HealthCare Ministry.

At OSF HealthCare, we strive to serve you through the resources of Legacy of Hope, the planned giving program for OSF HealthCare Foundation. Resources available at osflegacyofhope.org offer ideas that can bring benefit to you, your loved ones and the charities most meaningful to you, like the Care-A-Van, Faith Community Nursing Program, Garden of Hope, and the new OSF Cancer Institute.

For more information about supporting OSF HealthCare with a legacy gift for the future, please visit osflegacyofhope.org or contact Lanna Scannell, CFRE, Director of Strategic Philanthropy at the OSF HealthCare Foundation, at (309) 566-5662 or [email protected].