Indianapolis, Jan. 10, 2023 – Eskenazi Health Foundation has received a grant of $500,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support efforts to reduce gun violence as part of a comprehensive injury prevention initiative.
The grant is one of 13 that Lilly Endowment is making to help community centers, workforce development organizations, health care organizations and congregations and other faith-based groups work to curb gun violence in Indianapolis during the next two years.
“Eskenazi Health Foundation is grateful for this generous grant from our friends with Lilly Endowment,” said Ernest Vargo II, CFRE, president and chief executive officer of Eskenazi Health Foundation. “Our Prescription for Hope program provides a wide variety of invaluable assistance to individuals facing difficult circumstances. These financial resources will provide the means to help many of our trauma patients recover and lead a better, safer and more rewarding life.”
Eskenazi Health Foundation will use this grant to support Eskenazi Health Prescription for Hope, the cornerstone injury prevention program of the Smith Level I Shock Trauma Center at Eskenazi Health. The program assists individuals who have been shot, stabbed, or assaulted and have come to the emergency department. Since its inception in 2009, Prescription for Hope has helped more than 1,000 people.
Prescription for Hope assists patients and their families in making life changes that allow them to live safer, more successful, healthy lives. Program goals to prevent medical and violence recidivism include four specific objectives:
1. Link the patient to a primary care provider.
2. Link identified eligible patients and their families of choice to a Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
3. Ensure patients attend their initial follow-up medical appointments related to injuries.
4. Obtain appropriate health care coverage.
Prescription for Hope meets people on their worst day, and the comprehensive violence prevention and intervention strategy of this trauma education program features primary components that enable at-risk individuals in Indianapolis to achieve self-sufficiency and increase their opportunity to lead healthy, safe and successful lives.
For more information on Eskenazi Health’s Prescription for Hope program, call 317.880.5045, or visit https://www.eskenazihealth.edu/programs/violence-prevention.
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Established as a 501(c)(3) in 1985, the Eskenazi Health Foundation inspires, energizes and promotes a vital, healthy Indianapolis community by providing strategic guidance and philanthropic resources to Eskenazi Health. Charged with helping Eskenazi Health reach its full potential, the Eskenazi Health Foundation funds key health care initiatives and programs through its philanthropic support; educates the community about the impact of philanthropy on the life-changing work of Eskenazi Health and Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County; provides meaningful opportunities for donor engagement; and grows the strategic impact of the Foundation Board. To learn more about the Eskenazi Health Foundation, please visit www.EskenaziHealthFoundation.org.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J. K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.K. Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with its founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion, and it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
CONTACT: Tom Surber
Phone: 317.402.9327
Email: thomas.surber@eskenazihealth.edu