The inaugural Mount Carmel Foundation Legacy grant cycle has awarded $214,660 in grants to promote healthcare projects in Southeast Kansas in 2025! This grant cycle is for nonprofit healthcare agencies across the region to help with projects benefiting SEK residents. With over $210,000 granted, this makes the MCF Legacy Grants CFSEK’s largest annual grant cycle to date.
“We are proud to carry on the legacy of the Mount Carmel Foundation in our community,” said Devin Gorman, CFSEK Executive Director. “The Mount Carmel name will be preserved and will continue to play a vital role in improving healthcare for our Southeast Kansas community.”
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Grant recipients
The 2025 Mount Carmel Foundation Legacy Grant recipients and their projects are:
- Cherokee County Health Department will provide resources for breastfeeding mothers juggling work, school, and other responsibilities to simplify the process of breastmilk storage when refrigeration is unavailable.
- Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas will revitalize its prescription-assistance-application process to provide uninsured patients access to needed medications through their in-clinic pharmacies.
- Crawford County Health Department will upgrade their clinic facilities to provide high-quality services for sexual assault survivors and expand primary care services.
- Families and Children Together Inc. will purchase necessary medical equipment for their Crisis Intervention Center to address the medical aspects of behavioral health and add lifesaving equipment to their seven facilities.
- Hospital District 1 Crawford County Foundation will purchase a new CT machine to replace aging equipment at Girard Medical Center to enhance imaging accuracy, improve efficiency, and allow for faster diagnoses.
- Inspire Health Foundation, Inc. will sustain and expand access to health care career education for underserved children in Southeast Kansas through camp and program scholarships.
- Integrated Behavioral Technologies, Inc. will develop a fenced playground for its Autism Intervention Clinic in Pittsburg to provide children with autism regular, healthy access to the outdoors.
- Labette Health Foundation, Inc. will upgrade to a new 64-slice Siemens Somatom go.Top Excel CT scanner to enhance patient care with faster scan times, improved image quality, and AI-driven protocols.
- Mercy Health Foundation Southwest Missouri/Kansas will:
- Provide patient assistance for Mercy Hospital Pittsburg through support for durable medical equipment delivery, behavioral health transportation, prescription assistance, diabetic supplies, and baby formula and diapers.
- Advance care for women and children at Mercy Hospital Pittsburg by acquiring hearing assessment equipment for pediatric patients.
- Improve surgical care at Mercy Hospital Pittsburg by purchasing a replacement operating room table and endoscopy tower conversion kits.
- Purchase a new Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) Ultrasound machine for Mercy Hospital Pittsburg to provide real-time visualization for accurate placement of PICC lines.
- Pittsburg State University Foundation, Inc. will create an Immersive Healthcare for Little Explorers program to provide healthcare-related educational experiences for children and families affected by autism spectrum disorders.
- SEK Community Action Program, Inc. will enhance safety and emergency preparedness by providing Automated External Defibrillators and essential emergency preparedness supplies across locations.
- Victory Life Church will purchase an AED defibrillator and choking intervention devices for their facility to improve emergency response capabilities.
CFSEK congratulates all the recipients, and we look forward to seeing your projects in action in our communities!
The history of the Mount Carmel Foundation
Names can leave a lasting impact. Since 1903, the Mount Carmel name has been synonymous with quality healthcare throughout Southeast Kansas.
In 2024, the Mount Carmel Foundation (MCF) made the difficult decision to cease their operations and donate their assets to the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) so that the legacy of MCF and the Mount Carmel name could live on in Southeast Kansas forever. As a result, the Mount Carmel Foundation Legacy Grant cycle was established through CFSEK.
About the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas exists to encourage charitable giving that improves the quality of life for everyone in Southeast Kansas. The Foundation manages over 200 charitable funds addressing a wide range of local needs. It hosts seven competitive-grant cycles through which local nonprofit organizations can apply for funding for their projects.
To learn more about the Community Foundation, its grant cycles, or how it can help with your own charitable-giving goals, call 620.231.8897 or email Joshua McCloud.