In 2014, South Country Health Alliance gave nearly $3 million in grants to improve the health and wellbeing of our members. Here are the 17 organizations selected to receive grant funding:

Apple Tree Dental

Morrison County, $277,800, 2 Years

Apple Tree Dental is establishing a new outreach dental clinic at St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Little Falls to address the need for dental services in Morrison County and the surrounding area.

City of Wadena

Wadena County, $229,418, 3 Years

The City of Wadena is using the grant to conduct new research and create new wellness programs at the Maslowski Wellness and Research Center. The research will help the wellness center determine what programs it should offer to meet the needs in the community.

Fernbrook Family Center

Steele County, $167,471, 1 Year

Fernbrook Family Center created an Early Childhood Therapeutic Program in Owatonna for children with mental health disorders and their families. The new location, called Little Fern, offers clinical group services to help children develop key social and emotional behaviors.

Goodhue County Health and Human Services

Goodhue County, $274,920, 3 Years

Goodhue County Health and Human Services expanded its Parent Support Outreach Program (PSOP), which helps address child abuse and neglect. They used grant funding to hire a social worker who can focus specifically on families eligible for PSOP services.

Minnesota Prairie County Alliance – Steele

Steele County, $259,200, 3 Years

MNPrairie in Steele County is developing a system of care that will address trauma needs of children in Steele, Dodge, and Waseca counties. A new screening tool will help case managers identify children who have a greater need for trauma assessment. MNPrairie also hired a mental health professional to provide additional support for eligible parents and children.

Minnesota Prairie County Alliance – Waseca

Waseca County, $178,377, 3 Years

MNPrairie in Waseca County is providing Family Based Services to help at-risk families improve their parenting skills and build healthy relationships with their children. A family based worker meets with families and gives education and support for parents to help improve parent-child relationships and create more effective parenting strategies.

New Ulm Medical Center

Brown County, $275,000, 3 Years

New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC) expanded its current social work services to provide care coordination not only for hospital and emergency department patients, but clinic patients as well. The grant supplements South Country’s current partnership with NUMC and Brown County that was formed in 2012 to establish a Healthcare Coordinator.

Owatonna Hospital/Allina Health

Steele County, $145,214, 1 Year

Similar to NUMC, the Owatonna Hospital/Allina Health received a grant to expand its current partnership with South Country, South Central Human Relations Center, and Minnesota Prairie County Alliance. The Owatonna Hospital used additional funding to provide in-reach social work services to ED patients and patients in the clinic.

Schoen Family Dentistry

Wabasha County, $91,667, 1 Year

Schoen Family Dentistry is using the grant to decrease its waiting list and serve more patients in Wabasha and its surrounding communities. After hiring an additional dental hygienist and purchasing new equipment, Schoen Family Dentistry has been able to see nearly double the number of patients than they were able to before the grant.

Sibley County Developmental Achievement Center, Inc.

Sibley County, $24,000, 1 Year

The Sibley County Developmental Achievement Center (DAC) in Arlington created a multi-sensory environment (MSE) to help improve the health and social wellbeing of people with intellectual disabilities. Through lights, sounds, texture, and smell, MSEs create a stimulating, yet calming environment for people of any age with disabilities or disorders.

Sibley County Public Health and Human Services

Sibley County, $122,700, 3 Years

Sibley County Public Health and Human Services is starting a Community Health Worker (CHW) program to focus on improving the health of the Hispanic population in the area. The Sibley County CHW completed her training and has begun working with Hispanic individuals, connecting them to local resources that will meet their health care needs.

Southeastern Minnesota Area Agency on Aging, Inc.

Dodge County, $41,300, 3 Years

SEMAAA is implementing more programs for seniors in Dodge, Freeborn, Goodhue, Steele, and Wabasha counties. Its evidence-based programs help seniors who live with chronic disease, pain, or disabilities or who are at risk of falling.

Steele County Clothesline

Steele County, $30,000, 1 Year

The Steele County Clothesline in Owatonna provides free clothing and other household items to local residents in need. The grant funded their program and operation costs for one year, allowing them to connect to other organizations in the community.

Todd County Health and Human Services

Todd County, $465,400, 2 Years

Todd County Health and Human Services is building a new community center and kitchen in Eagle Bend to better meet the needs of the region’s growing senior population. The Eagle Bend Community Kitchen and Center will be built in a repurposed section of the former Eagle Bend High School and is expected to open to the public in 2017.

Tri-County Health Care

Wadena County, $105,581, 3 Years

Tri-County Health Care in Wadena expanded its Community Paramedic program that provides primary care and preventative services to residents in their homes. Funding from the grant helped purchase a vehicle for patient visits, train new staff, and establish monitoring tools to measure the program’s effectiveness.

Wabasha County Social Services

Wabasha County, $277,400, 3 Years

Wabasha County Social Services established a new Fernbrook Family Center office in Wabasha to provide mental health services to children in the community. The county also used the grant to hire and train program staff to provide services to people with mental health issues.

Waseca County Early Childhood Initiative

Waseca County, $24,899, 3 Years

The Waseca County Early Childhood Initiative is expanding its Incredible Years education program, which helps parents support positive development in their young children. The Incredible Years program offers classes to high-risk Waseca County families in need.