The Obici Healthcare Foundation has awarded more than $2.3 million in grants, including a $15,000, one-year grant to Nursing CAPS, Inc., a first-time grantee of the foundation.

The grant will allow the agency, which serves middle and high school students, to emphasize the importance of healthy eating and active living along with their nursing/medical career education curriculum.

“The Obici Healthcare Foundation is pleased to announce the awarding of over $2.3 million in grants to 29 nonprofit organizations serving Western Tidewater,” said J. Samuel Glasscock, foundation chairman. Award amounts among new and renewed grantees range from $10,000 to $357,859.

“The Foundation Board of Directors and staff are excited by the quality of the programs being offered by this group of grantees committed to providing care in the Foundation’s service area,” Glasscock said.

The private foundation was created in 2006 with assets established through the generosity of Planters Peanuts founder Amedeo Obici and funds from the merger of Louise Obici Memorial Hospital and Sentara Healthcare. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded $38 million in grant funding.

“Grants made by the Foundation continue Amedeo Obici’s legacy of improving the health status of people living in the service area,” said Angelica Light, foundation interim executive director. “Mr. Obici, the founder of Planters Peanuts, was successful in business and passionate about helping the people in Western Tidewater and Gates County, N.C.”

The successful Round 19 grantees are listed below.

• Albemarle Regional Health Services, $50,000 for Gates County Diabetes Care to reduce morbidity, mortality and costs among pre-diabetics and diabetics residing in Gates County, N.C.
• Suffolk Department of Parks & Recreation, $75,000 to construct a mile-long phase of the Seaboard Coastline Trail located in North Suffolk for walkers and bikers.
• Suffolk Department of Parks & Recreation, $75,000 to build a paved, quarter-mile trail at Lake Kennedy Park that complements its amenities, such as basketball courts, a picnic area and playground equipment.
• Eastern Virginia Medical School, $45,000 for EVMS Continuity of Care for Western Tidewater to provide access to basic health care to uninsured Western Tidewater Free Clinic patients by engaging medical residents, third-year medical and physician assistant students.
• Franklin City Public Schools, $62,500 for a division school psychologist to provide students and families of Franklin City Public Schools with access to behavioral health services.
• Hope Focus Center, $75,000 for Experience Center Sportsplex to renovate the annex building of the Experience Center into a sportsplex facility that will provide exercise and recreation for all ages in Franklin.
• HumanKind, $29,145 for a program to provide Zuni residents with intellectual disabilities with wellness education on healthy eating, physical activity and understanding managing their chronic disease.
• Isle of Wight County Department of Social Services, $65,796 for Enroll Isle of Wight for a proactive outreach program to increase the number of children and families enrolled in Medicaid and FAMIS in Isle of Wight County.
• Nursing CAP Inc., $15,000 for a program to encourage students to choose nursing and other health care careers and implement comprehensive obesity prevention program that focuses on healthy eating and active living.
• Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, $37,500 to provide low-income seniors and persons with disabilities in Western Tidewater with outreach services to apply for eligible benefits through Medicare and Medicaid.
• Sentara Obici Hospital, $136,021 to provide high-risk expectant families and new parents living of Western Tidewater with case management and home-visiting support to increase infant survival rate.
• Southeastern Virginia Health System, $200,000 to provide access to comprehensive oral healthcare services for Western Tidewater residents.
• Suffolk Family YMCA, $30,000 to provide pool lifts that allow persons with physical limitations to participate in various water aerobics at Camp Arrowhead and the Suffolk Family YMCA.
• Suffolk Meals on Wheels, $62,634 to provide short-term emergency meals to at-risk and need-based patients transitioning home from the hospital with one or more health issues.
• Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community, $164,298 to create a culture of wellness in Suffolk by working to implement policy change at the city and community level by serving as a convener, advocate and promoter of wellness by engaging citizens in taking responsibility for their own personal wellness and for creating a community that values wellness as a key driver of livability.
• Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, $25,000 to raise awareness among residents of public housing communities in Suffolk about the health hazards from secondhand smoke in public places and reduce the number of smokers.
• The King’s Daughters, $10,000 to fund a medical transport unit specifically equipped for pediatric transport that is often used in lifesaving situations.
• The Up Center, $58,884 to provide individuals and families with trauma informed care and counseling services.
• United Way of South Hampton Roads, $81,827 to offer programming during the summer that provides children with basic health screenings, physical activities, nutritious meals and tutoring as well as trauma-informed care training for participating teachers.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, $75,000 to implement the Good Health Farmer’s Market delivery to Suffolk residents in identified food deserts.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, $75,000 to address the lack of cooking skills, a major barrier in adapting healthy eating behaviors. The “Cooking Matters” curriculum will be provided and complemented by in-store training to include shopping, reading product labels and determining best cost food combinations.
• VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads, $22,500 to reinvent how to best utilize volunteers, organizations participate in a yearlong process of training, coaching, creation and implementation of a comprehensive volunteer action plan that increases the organization’s effectiveness to fulfill their mission.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board, $92,827 to provide the seriously mentally ill population in Western Tidewater with trained peer providers who will educate, monitor and assist with their chronic disease management to individuals enrolled.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board, $357,859 to provide uninsured and under-insured adults with access to community based psychiatric services for behavioral health care that is necessary in order to maintain their stability in the community.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board, $109,236 to provide Western Tidewater residents with integrated outpatient counseling by trained clinical staff at local shelters, community health centers and clinics.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board, $75,000 to establish a program that will assess and assist individuals with behavioral health diagnosis to prevent incarceration, receive treatment and case management in a place-based setting.
• Western Tidewater Health District, $140,422 to continue a national model — Nurse Family Partnership — to improve prenatal health, child health and development through age two in Franklin, Suffolk and Isle of Wight County.
• Windsor Athletic Association, $25,000 to install playground equipment for children ages 2-12 adjacent to the Windsor Athletic Association baseball diamonds.
• YMCA of South Hampton Roads, $55,856 to proactively address the prevalence of pre-diabetes by implementing a risk-reduction model for Western Tidewater residents based on a national best practice.