IU Health Foundation Exceeds First-year Goal by 331%

In 2018 – its first full year – the Indiana University Health Foundation raised $19,070,185, which exceeded the philanthropic goal set by system and Foundation leadership by more than 300 percent. This includes commitments raised through the Foundation as well as government grant dollars raised on behalf of IU Health.

As a result, a grants program primarily available in Central Indiana will be expanded statewide to support hospitals in all regions of IU Health. Details of this program are being finalized now and will be made available in the second quarter of this year.

“From Monticello to Paoli and from Lafayette to Portland, IU Health patients and caregivers are reaping the benefits of philanthropic giving from generous donors,” said Crystal Hinson Miller, president, IU Health Foundation. “More than $10 million was distributed to support our mission this year.”

IU Health Foundation raises funds to help IU Health and adult hospitals statewide achieve its goal of making Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states. According to the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings annual report, Indiana ranks as the 41st healthiest state in the U.S. Addressing such challenges as behavioral health outcomes and the rampant opioid crisis, tobacco use, infant mortality and obesity will help improve that ranking, as well as a broader investment in social determinants of health that impact Hoosiers statewide.

The Foundation’s efforts raised money for patient care, clinical education, innovation, and community health programs throughout the state. The following are a few highlights.

  • Statewide:  $1.4 million through a state-directed award to IU Health makes peer recovery coaches available in every IU Health emergency department statewide. These coaches have special training and personal experience with recovery. A growing service within substance use disorder treatment, peer recovery coaching helps address the addiction crisis one patient at a time.
  • Suburban Indianapolis:  A $10 million gift will make it possible for more people to access renowned cancer care in Hamilton County and surrounding areas. The Joe and Shelly Schwarz Cancer Center at IU Health North will be an all-in-one facility providing integrated cancer care for patients and their families. Opening in Carmel in 2020, the center will offer radiation oncology spaces and infusion rooms as well as integrated health services.
  • West Central Indiana:  More than $330,000 received through the estate of a grateful patient will benefit patient care at IU Health White Memorial Hospital.
  • East Central Indiana:  The completed integration of IU Health Jay Hospital into the IU Health Foundation family will bring benefit to Portland and the surrounding area through a $10,000 matching gift from the IU Health Foundation toward donations for patient support.
  • South Central Indiana: A $10,000 gift to IU Health Bloomington Hospice will provide custom recliners for patients and patient families in hospice care. This gift was made possible from a family who was grateful for the care they and their father received while in hospice care.
  • Indianapolis:  A $500,000 gift to IU Health Adult Academic Health Center will expand the Lynda A. Merriman Award for Compassionate Care program system-wide.

IU Health Foundation was created in late 2017 to raise funds to improve Hoosiers’ health and help Indiana become one of the healthiest states in the nation. It has combined 15 hospital foundations and giving programs representing IU Health hospitals throughout Indiana. The result is an increase in our capacity to build upon community relationships, ensuring local giving stays local, while engaging donors interested in transformative giving to impact our state’s greatest health challenges.