Groups Get $930,000 In Health Grants

Six local organizations will receive about $930,000 in grants from the Desert Healthcare District, the district announced today.

The district’s board voted Tuesday to award grants to programs at Hidden Harvest, F.I.N.D. Food Bank, Mizell Senior Center, Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus, the Desert AIDS Project and United Cerebral Palsy of the Inland Empire, district spokesman Tim O’Bayley said.

“In the midst of our current economic struggles, so many wonderful organizations in our valley are faced with insurmountable financial challenges,” according to board member and program committee chairman Sidney Rubenstein.

“While the need for funding seems to grow exponentially, so does the need for these important services,” he said.

The district awarded grants of:

— $300,000 to fund CSUSB’s bachelor of science in nursing program for three years;

— $202,480 for Hidden Harvest’s Fresh and Healthy program, which distributes produce to agencies including Food Now, The Well in the Desert, Salvation Army and Bridges of Hope;

— $175,070 for Mizell Senior Center’s Meals on Wheels program;

— $151,440 for a new electronic health record system for the Desert AIDS Project;

— $72,760 for F.I.N.D. Food Bank’s administrative costs for distributing 3 million pounds of food to 45 agencies in the district; and

— $28,000 for United Cerebral Palsy of the Inland Empire’s Palm Springs Skills Builder and Community Integration program, which serves 12 local children with disabilities.

Desert Healthcare District, a government agency, supports community health programs in a roughly 450-square-mile area in the Coachella Valley.