HANCOCK COUNTY — When the Hancock Health Foundation launched a new fund to assist with mental health and substance abuse treatment at the start of 2020, officials had no idea just how important the fund would become in the coming year.
The foundation has raised $1.66 million for the endowment to date, surpassing the original goal of $1.3 million, but the need has since skyrocketed.
Due to a growing mental health and substance abuse crisis that has deepened during the pandemic, the endowment’s fundraising goal has been increased to $3.5 million and extended for another year or two.
The purpose of the fund was always to support mental health and substance abuse treatment in the community, said foundation director Nancy Davis. The increased need resulting from COVID-19 justified the need to nearly triple the fund’s overall goal, she said.
Mental health experts agree the pandemic has harmed the overall state of mental health and has increased substance abuse rates since its onset last spring.
Many people all over the country have turned to alcohol and drug abuse, said Davis, while an increasing number have come forward for mental health struggles, including thoughts of suicide.
On a recent conference call with hospital administrators, Davis said the group was celebrating the fact that COVID case numbers are going down, but several clinical workers voiced concern about the post-COVID fallout in the community, like an increase in substance abuse and suicides.
(The number of suicides in the county doubled to 10 in 2020 compared to 2019, according to figures from the county coroner.)
“I was shocked to hear (their feedback), but then again I wasn’t,” said Davis. “This past year has taken a toll on everybody, regardless of where you’re at, and some are obviously struggling more than others.”
The increased need can be felt throughout the Hancock Health system of care, she said, from the influx of new patients at Hancock Counseling and Psychiatric Services to the number of people seeking help with day-to-day needs through Healthy365.
Money from the foundation’s newest fund will be used to offset the cost of care being provided by Hancock Health, which typically sees a financial loss when it comes to mental health and substance abuse services, Davis said.
The health foundation’s main function is to support the community and offset the cost of health care, she said, primarily in areas where Hancock Health operates at a loss.
“So when you think hospice care; comprehensive cancer care; and mental health and substance abuse treatment, those are typically not highly reimbursable or profitable” for the hospital, Davis said.
Mental health services in particular typically operate in the red, she said, so the foundation works to offset the bottom line.
“We currently lose $2 million (annually) in mental health care,” Davis said.
Foundation staffers worked the last quarter of 2019 preparing to launch the new fund in January of 2020.
Before going public with the campaign, they first shared the fundraising efforts in-house with the hospital’s executive team and board members, then branched out to share with a few local businesses and organizations.
“By January 2020 we had $800,000 given or pledged,” Davis said.
Come mid-March, however, the foundation quickly turned its focus to COVID support, overseeing donations of personal protective equipment, coordinating meals for hospital staffers and most recently assisting the vaccination team.
Now that the number of local COVID cases is trending downward, the staff is turning its sights back to fundraising for the mental health and substance abuse treatment fund.
Given the enhanced need for mental health and substance abuse treatment in the county, foundation officials feel good about increasing the goal and extending fundraising for another year or two.
Through it all, Davis said donors have continued to step up to support the fund.
“We thought we were going to lose all of 2020” in terms of growing the fund, Davis said, “but we actually had a pretty successful year.”
The foundation wasted no time in paying out funds raised from the endowment. “Typically our endowments have a waiting period to start to pay out, but because of this need, we decided to pay out the very first year,” Davis said.
Even given the financial hit many people have taken over the past year, Davis isn’t surprised the community has stepped up the way it has in contributing to the new endowment.
“I’ve been in this role for seven years, and I didn’t know what to expect, but I really knew this community is incredibly generous. When they see a need, they just rise up to meet it,” she said.
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The Hancock Health Foundation has raised more than $1.6 million for its new mental health and substance abuse treatment fund, but officials say more funds are needed to address the growing need resulting from issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The foundation, which exists to support Hancock Health and Hancock Regional Hospital, has increased the overall goal to $3.5 million and extended fundraising for another year or two.
For information on how to support the endowment, or any of the foundation’s funds, call 317-468-4583 or visit hancockregionalhospital.org/foundation/giving-opportunities.
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