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News from Grossmont Healthcare District
The board of directors of the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), a public agency that serves San Diego’s East County region with health-related community programs and services, has unanimously voted to allocate $140,000 from the general fund to support community organizations involved in fire disaster relief efforts currently underway in the East County.
In a specially-called meeting held on Tuesday morning, Oct. 23, the GHD board approved the following emergency grants to assist with fire relief occurring within various East County communities:
-- $50,000 to the American Red Cross, San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter, which has been operating shelters in the East County and providing services to wildfire evacuees;
-- $25,000 to The Salvation Army, which has been helping firefighters who are battling the blazes with mobile feeding units and water;
-- $25,000 to Rescue Task Force, an El Cajon-based charity that provides food, medical supplies and support to victims of natural and man-made disasters as part of its ongoing mission;
-- $20,000 to Mountain Health & Community Services, Inc., a non-profit organization that is currently assisting with an evacuation center in Campo, as well as serving underinsured and low-income patients at three community health clinics it operates in Campo, Jacumba and Alpine;
-- $10,000 for employees of Sharp Grossmont Hospital who suffered losses from the wildfires;
-- $5,000 to the La Mesa Kiwanis Club to cover expenses for meals that local club members have been preparing and delivering to designated public shelters for fire evacuees located in the East County; and,
-- $5,000 to the pharmacy at Costco Wholesale in La Mesa to pay for over-the-counter medicines and other medical supplies that Costco has been providing to evacuees at fire shelters.
Board members stated at the special meeting that additional dollars may be allocated in the future to local relief organizations to meet yet unforeseen needs.
“We are proud to join many others as we together provide assistance towards the relief effort now,” said Dr. John Hardebeck, GHD 2007 board president. “In our community’s gravest times, in the aftermath of the wildfires’ destruction, we seek to support the welfare of the unfortunate closest to home. With heartfelt gratitude and a commitment to support the victims of these disastrous fires, we are honored to have the ability to offer a helping hand.”
The Grossmont Healthcare District is governed by a five-member board of directors, each elected to four-year terms, who represent nearly 500,000 people residing within the District’s 750 square miles in San Diego’s East County. Formed in 1952 to build and operate Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, the District serves as serves as landlord of the hospital, including ownership of the property and buildings on behalf of local taxpayers. For more information about GHD, visit www.grossmonthealthcare.org.
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