Patient Crisis Care Endowment

A Solution for Today & Tomorrow

Started in 2023 by a group of physicians at St. Margaret Hospital, The Patient Crisis Care Endowment is a fund that holds donations in perpetuity from which the allocated annual earnings will be dedicated to the individual needs of patients in crisis. The endowment ensures that no matter what other priorities are being met, individual patients in crisis will always have a place to turn.

What is an endowment? An endowment is a type of fund that ensures that needs are met long term. Donations to the Patient Crisis Care Endowment will build the principal of this endowment which is held in perpetuity while invested under the scrutiny of the Foundation’s finance committee. The funds of the endowment may never to be depleted as defined by tax law. Earnings are held in a temporarily restricted fund that can only be used to support patients in crisis at the direction of St. Margaret social workers. Gifts to this endowment will help today, tomorrow and into the future. Importantly, this will not cover hospital or doctor’s fees. Our goal is to raise $3 million over the next three years whereby $127,000 will be available annually for these needs. No matter what changes occur in healthcare over the coming years, patients’ needs will be met.

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How do we help patients in crisis?

Hope

The Patient Crisis Relief Endowment will provide funds for unexpected occurrences so patients don’t have to hear “no.” Occurrences like:

Sudden medical bills that leave patients unable to pay for housing or utilities
Car payments
A stay at a skilled nursing facility

Healing

The Patient Crisis Relief Endowment will provide security for patients in need of:

Expensive medicine
IV antibiotics
Therapeutic synthetic pets to calm anxiety
Patient food pantry
Fresh produce at health clinics

Independence

The Patient Crisis Relief Endowment will provide consistent funding for necessary items not covered by insurance such as:

Stair glides
Home health visits from a nurse
Walker replacement
Tub benches
Meals on Wheels
Medical bed for home

A Growing Community Need

Over the last 15 years, emergency requests for crisis funding have skyrocketed by more than 600 percent.

Growing medical expenses and limited coverage options available to the middle class and working poor are forcing people to make financial decisions that impair their health, the effects of which can be financially and personally devastating.

"I’ve been a nurse for over 18 years and before coming to UPMC I had never encountered a hospital with a foundation like St. Margaret’s.

In other hospital settings, patients in need have few if any options. Patients face impossible decisions, such as “do I pay for food this month, or do I pay for my medicine?” They often simply do not get what that they need and have poor outcomes, frequently finding themselves right back in the hospital. It’s devastating. Often staff, nurses and physicians will take up funds to try to help.

Thanks to St. Margaret's, our team can offer a holistic approach to clinical care and discharge. We work hard to see every patient within 24 hours of admission to the hospital, inquiring about housing, transportation, food insecurity, and access to utilities. We are in contact with physicians and nurses who know to reach out if they see a patient in need, knowing that support can mean something different for every patient in need."

Bethany Rose, Director of Clinical Car Coordination and Discharge Planning