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The Richland County Health Department offers many beneficial services to our community. One service they provide is hearing tests in the schools using audiometers. A child who suffers from a hearing deficit is not able to perform optimally or achieve their potential without screening, detection and referral for services. The Health Department found it necessary to replace outdated audiometers. With the help from a Foundation Endowment Grant, the Health Department was able to purchase two new machines that replaced the old ones.
Kay Crosby, RN at the Health Department stated, “It (audiometer) is a tool that is used to catch a problem in children before it becomes something major.” The screening is done in a quiet room or area of the school. Children wear headphones and respond to sounds by raising their hands. “A little over 1,000 children are screened every year. We are very thankful for the money allowing us to update the machines,” stated Crosby.
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| Pictured above are (L to R) Kay Crosby, RN at the Richland County Health Department, Lambert student Trent Lien and his mom, Foundation Board member Yvette Lien. Kay demonstrates a hearing screening test using a new audiometer purchased with a Foundation Endowment Fund Grant. |
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You don’t always see the results of your gifts to the Foundation for Community Care first hand, but we hope you know that you are actually making a big difference in the lives of many of our community members.
Last fall we met with some of the residents of the Svarre Group Home, which received a 2006 Endowment Grant to purchase a walk-in hydrotherapy bathtub. One of the residents expressed her joy through giggles and smiles, and the staff said that although she’s lived in the home six years, because of mobility issues she could only take showers instead of baths. Imagine her happiness at being able to soak in a bubble bath now!
As Cindy Eleson, Executive Director of ROI, Inc. pointed out to the Foundation’s Board of Directors, “You may not think this grant affected a lot of people, but remember it affects those that live in Svarre Group Home every day of the year for all the years of their lives.” That’s a lot of bubbles!
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| Pictured: Svarre Group Home resident, Jamie Lorenz, and ROI Executive Director, Cindy Eleson, show the new hydrotherapy tub that was installed at the Svarre Group Home. The tub was purchased with a Foundation Endowment Fund Grant. |
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Another service provided by the Richland County Health Department is the Northeastern Montana Safe Kids, Safe Communities (SKSC) Program. SKSC is dedicated to preventing injury and death caused by traffic crashes, specifically those caused by impaired driving or nonuse/misuse of child car seats and adult seat belts.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury to young children. “Proper child seat selection, along with correct installation and education is important to helping parents make sure their children ride safe every trip,” said SKSC Coordinator Christy Kapor. National statistics show that four out of five car seats are used incorrectly and statistics in Richland, Sheridan and McCone Counties show car seats are misused 96% of the time.
“The car seats we provide to local families are funded entirely by private donations, not federal grants. That’s why I am so thankful for the Foundation’s Endowment Fund. The grant we received paid for 36 car and booster seats, helping us ensure Richland County’s children ride safely,” commented Kapor.
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| Using a Foundation Endowment Fund Grant, the Northeastern MT Safe Kids, Safe Communities program was able to purchase car seats benefiting local families. Pictured above is (L to R) Sidney Health Center Employee Stephanie Girdler who is a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, Riley O’Donnell and Safe Kids Safe Communities Coordinator, Christy Kapor. |
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