Community

Health Grants Aim to Fill Gaps Across the Ohio Valley

$139K awarded to 17 organizations

BRIDGEPORT -- The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley awarded a total of $139,015 to 17 local organizations Wednesday morning through its River Valley Health Fund.

The awards were announced during a banquet at Bridgeport Exempted Village School District's recently opened "The Bridge" facility.

The River Valley Health Fund provides grants to organizations working to strengthen the health and well-being of communities across the Ohio Valley.

Bridgeport Exempted Village School District received $16,500 for its school-based health access and prevention initiative.

Superintendent Brent Ripley said the funds will greatly help students in need.

"We have children that have visited our campus that don’t have shoes, and families don’t have shoes," Ripley said.

He added that one of the reasons the district created "The Bridge" was to serve an underserved community with limited access to dental and medical care.

The Bridge is a 31,000-square-foot facility that offers expanded science, technology, engineering and mathematics labs as well as additional classroom space for College Credit Plus programming. The facility also will allow community members to use its spaces for training and credentialing programs outside of school hours.

"So we said, if we can get that care here, we can help kids, we can help attendance, help achievements, and help with mental, physical, and spiritual health," Ripley said.

Other grant recipients included:

-- A Caring Place Child Advocacy Center, $6,600 for advance care planning medical services.

-- AIM Women's Center, $10,000 for its doula program.

-- Augusta Levy Learning Center, $10,000 for access to autism care.

-- Belmont College, $4,799 for vital signs training equipment.

-- Belmont County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Division Probation Department, $8,000 for healthy support for Belmont County youth.

-- Cumberland Trail Fire District, $6,000 for its Belmont County CARES Transportation Assistance Fund.

CARES Program Director Chad Zambori said the program covers the entirety of Belmont County.

"The goal of the program is to reduce 911 calls and reduce hospitalizations visits. When we’re out and we’re talking to our patients or our clients, the one thing that keeps coming up is transportation assistance," Zambori said. "Getting people to the grocery store, getting people to doctor’s appointments, or just whatever they need. Hopefully, this closes the gap a little bit. We’re trying our best and trying to make sure that these people can get wherever they need to go."

-- East Central Ohio Education Service Center, $4,000 for gross motor equipment.

-- Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, $8,000 for a universal changing station at the Ohio Valley Mall.

-- Empower and Link, $6,250 for Project LINK, which stands for Leveraging Intervention, Nutrition and Knowledge for Healthy Futures.

Easter Seals Marketing Director Betsy Bethel-McFarland said Easter Seals serves children with disabilities of all kinds. Some children, as they get older, are not mobile, requiring parents and caregivers to use larger changing stations.

She said adults also face the same issue.

"Sometimes they end up having to change them out to their car, van, bathroom floor, or wherever they can so we really want to help serve these folks and help them," Bethel-McFarland said. "The changing station will automatically go up and down, so the table can be lowered. They can transfer the child to the table, lift them up, and do what they need to do."

She added that Easter Seals is grateful to be working with the mall to install the changing station.

"We’re really excited to work with them and are grateful for them to make it possible to serve the people of the Ohio Valley."

She said Ohio Valley Mall Marketing Director Candi Noble-Greathouse informed her that the mall's family bathroom is the exact size needed to install the larger changing station.

-- Faith in Action Caregivers, $10,000 to remove transportation barriers to health care.

-- Hoops for the Heart VFD, $10,000 for health screenings.

-- Ohio County Family Resource Network, $7,000 for food security for Valley Grove and Triadelphia.

-- Madison Elementary School, $8,000 for its Madison Anchor program, which benefits children's social, emotional and character development.

-- Ohio Valley Health Center, $10,000 for a T9 abdominal ultrasound probe and training for the new machine.

-- Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, $4,360 for a portable ultrasound clinic.

-- Young Women's Christian Association of Wheeling, $9,900 for its living and nutrition initiative.

River Valley Health Foundation board Chairwoman Shelly Carenbauer said the organization receives more grant requests each year, making it more difficult for the board to determine who receives funding.

"I wish I knew the number of applicants that applied this year. From how many that we gave out, I know that we didn’t even cover half the applicants that we had, and they’re all very good applicants so it’s hard," Carenbauer said. "These grants are very well done. Everyone gives a budget. They give us how many people that they’re going to serve, what counties that they’re going to serve, and we just have to go through them and determine what we think can make the biggest impact in our area."

She added that the board also provides emergency funds when needed.

When East Ohio Regional Hospital closed in March 2025, the River Valley Health Fund helped employees who did not receive their paychecks.

"We do have emergency funds, and we are very in touch with the community and find out what’s going on with the community needs, and I think people know that they can reach out to us, and we can continue to help as many as we can," Carenbauer said.

She said the annual banquet is special because it allows her to see firsthand the changes being made throughout the Ohio Valley.

"It's very eye-opening to see that the needs continue to grow within our area," Carenbauer said. "We have applicants from infants to elderly. So we’re really just looking at anyone who needs the extra funding to make sure that their program works as effectively and efficiently as possible."

She added that there is more need than the board can meet, but she is glad the Community Foundation can do its part to help improve the community.

"It's rewarding for our small group, the River Valley Health Fund, to be able to continue to grow the amount that we’re giving out and supporting the community," Carenbauer said. "But then it’s also just knowing that these needs continue to exist and continue to grow."

Community Foundation Communications and Marketing Director Shelby Davis said the foundation prides itself on research and making sure it is at the forefront of issues affecting the Ohio Valley.

"One thing that is very prominent and evident throughout the Ohio Valley is the lack of healthcare access for those in rural areas and even those in non-rural areas. We have a large elderly population. So being able to be able to serve those populations in a way like this through programs while partnering with other nonprofits is something that’s really essential and really important to us," Davis said.