Tidewell Foundation Awards $4.5 Million Dollars in Grants to Tidewell Hospice

December 20, 2021 – Sarasota

In its first full year of operation, the Tidewell Foundation distributed $3.46 million dollars in programmatic grants to Tidewell Hospice and its family of healthcare companies. These funds are in addition to the Foundation’s $1.1 million capital grant for the creation of the first Tidewell Family Grief Center in Ellenton, which opened in September 2021. Programs funded by these grants provide compassionate care across Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.

“We are proud to have distributed these funds in 2021 to guarantee people living in the Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto county communities have access to free hospice care, community grief services, as well as our workforce development programs to ensure future hospice nurses and aides,” said Tidewell Foundation President Debbie Mason. “All the services and programs that were funded by this year’s grants are free to participants, thanks to the generosity of donors whose support strengthens our mission to provide care for all.”

The following programs were funded by grants made by the Tidewell Foundation in Fiscal Year 2021:

Pediatric Care Services ($90,400)
Tidewell Hospice provides free care to children with advanced illness, including support to help their families navigate the most difficult days of their lives.

Tidewell Honors Veterans Program ($22,092)
This comprehensive program focuses on respectfully celebrating veterans and providing care that recognizes the unique challenges that may exist in military families.

Blue Butterfly Program ($455,057)
Tidewell’s Blue Butterfly is an evidence-based community outreach program for children aged 5-18 and their caregivers who have experienced the death of a significant person in their lives. This program brings expertise in counseling and mental health to the young people in the community who need it most.

Community Grief Center ($97,564)
The Tidewell Family Grief Center in Ellenton is a first-of-its-kind facility in the region that provides holistic grief support for individuals, families, and the community. Tidewell Family Grief Center clients have access to opportunities to meet their own grief needs through one-on-one sessions, groups, art therapy, meditation, or alternative therapies.

Grief Education and Support Services ($874,896)
Tidewell Hospice is the most significant provider of free grief counseling programs in its four-county service area. These grief services are offered for free to members of our community, whether or not their loved one was a Tidewell patient.

Cardiac Care Program ($105,549)
The Advanced Cardiac Care Program caters to patients with end-stage heart failure and helps them manage symptoms and concerns from the comfort of their homes. The program is a combination of clinical protocols and patient/family education resources, including evidence-based tools that improve care quality and save patient families stress and unnecessary expenses.

Nurse Residency Program ($314,465)
This unique training course launched in 2018 provides newly licensed Registered Nurse graduates with a year-long, in-depth training program in hospice nursing. Created in response to the national nursing shortage experienced in the area, this program provides comprehensive, one-on-one training, allowing nurse residents to understand the complex specialty of hospice nursing.

Complementary Services ($420,199)
Tidewell Complementary Services offers a full array of special programs that bring quality of life to those with advanced illness through stress reduction, pain relief and distraction, opportunities for joy, and healing of psycho-social issues for patients and their families.

Humanitarian & Wishes Fund ($79,953)
The Tidewell Humanitarian Fund grants emergency, non-medical financial relief, alleviating that burden on a patient or caregiver and allowing them to focus on their medical care. The Tidewell Foundation’s Wishes Fund fulfills a last wish for Tidewell Hospice patients and their families.

Charity Care ($1,000,000)
At the heart of Tidewell’s mission is the belief that everyone deserves access to world-class hospice care, regardless of their ability to pay. Tidewell’s Charity Care program ensures that compassion, comfort and care are available to all who need it.

Donors who contribute to Tidewell Foundation before the end of the year can take advantage of significant tax benefits before they expire. Donors can visit https://tidewellfoundation.org/donate/