CHRISTUS Health Celebrates ‘Community Partners in Mission’ and Multimillion Dollar Impact

CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System recognized three educational programs by local organizations for their contributions to the community as part of the annual Community Benefit Breakfast on July 18th.

The three programs are: Job Shadowing Program with CHRISTUS Volunteer Services, Project SEARCH, and the Women With Heart Scholarship Program.

In the 2023 fiscal year, CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System provided more than $5.6 million through grants, in-kind donations, programs and services across a variety of areas including behavioral health, specialty care, chronic disease management, education, food insecurity, smoking and vaping education, and primary care.

“We are proud to collaborate with more than 175 community partners in our ministry,” said Crissy Chanslor, program manager for community benefits. “These organizations play a vital role in meeting community needs, and we are blessed to partner and collaborate with them in changing the fabric of our communities.”

Four local school districts: Whitehouse ISD, Chapel Hill ISD, Lindale ISD, and Tyler ISD were recognized for their collaboration with the job shadowing program as part CHRISTUS Volunteer Services. Currently, 44 schools partner with CHRISTUS at five different hospitals and multiple clinics.

In the past five years, students have logged more than 66,000 job shadow hours with nearly 7,500 students logging nearly 25,000 encounters.

Tyler ISD, Texas Workforce Solutions, and Winning Edge Employment Services were recognized for Project SEARCH, which is designed to immerse students with developmental disabilities into the workplace, allowing them to gain marketable skills to secure competitive employment in their last year of transition from school to work.

In May 2023, the eight Project SEARCH class graduated, and over the life of the program, 64 of the 70 students are currently employed, including 22 with CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances.

The Women with Heart Scholarship program was recognized for their efforts to bring heart disease education to students and their families. High school students produced and submitted educational videos highlighting the importance of heart health. The videos were voted on by the public with $10,000 in scholarships awarded to the winners.

Annually, the Community Benefit Steering Committee at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances welcomes partners from across the ministry’s service areas to review the previous year’s community benefit impact, gather feedback and look ahead to the coming year’s areas of focus.

“At CHRISTUS Health, we are guided by our mission to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, so our success and our growth translate directly to our community,” said Chris Glenney, chief executive officer, CHRISTUS Northeast Texas. “We are always asking ‘how can we invest in this place, in these people? How can we make an impact with our partners where it counts the most?’ That’s what our Community Benefit Program is all about.”

Among those in attendance were Tyler Mayor Don Warren, County Commission Pam Frederick, Tyler Chamber of Commerce President Henry Bell, Tyler City Council member Lloyd Nichols, Nancy Rangel from the Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance, as well as representatives from U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran’s office, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s office.