Foundation receives $37k grant for Ayers Children's Hospital
For the second straight year, West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation is getting an unplanned donation of money from a grant from Delta Dental of Tennessee, this time for $37,000.
“This year’s contest saw twice as many votes as last year’s contest did, and West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation wound up staying at about the same percentage of votes – just under 40%,” said Phil Wenk, the executive director of Delta Dental of Tennessee. “And that just goes to show the work of Frank (WTHF President Frank McMeen) and JR (West Tennessee Healthcare CEO James Ross) and how well the people of West Tennessee appreciate and trust the work they do.”
As president of the Foundation, McMeen’s job is raising funds, which has been a little more difficult the past two years as WTH has canceled the Charity Gala, which typically kicks off the fundraiser event season in the region in November, because of COVID-19 concerns.
“We miss out on a large percentage of our funding each year without the Gala, but winning this contest each year does help that a bit,” McMeen said. “And we handle a lot of healthcare cases between Memphis and Nashville, especially on this side of the (Tennessee) River, so we’re glad to get the support we’ve gotten in this contest the last two years.”
Wenk said there’s no requirement for how WTH can spend the money, although it is meant to be spent in pediatrics and the Ayers Children’s Hospital that’s inside Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.
“They’re the healthcare providers, so they know how the money needs to be spent,” Wenk said. “But pediatrics is something we care about because of the federal funding for healthcare that’s out there, one study we’ve seen shows that 7% of that funding goes to pediatrics.
“So any money we can help funnel toward taking care of children in Tennessee, we’re glad to do that.”
Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Foundation receives $37k grant for Ayers Children's Hospital
