Palm Health Foundation granted over $2 million during its 2022 fiscal year, investing in innovative, long-term solutions that are building a culture of health in Palm Beach County. The foundation collaborates with community partners and donors to lead change for better health across areas vital to a healthy, thriving, community, including advancing brain health and strengthening the healthcare workforce. Grants support programs and initiatives that are pioneering new ways to improve conditions impacting residents’ ability to be well and live into their fullest health potential. The foundation has invested over $91 million in Palm Beach County health since 2001.

“Over my years of service to the foundation, I’ve witnessed our definition of health expand to include the social, economic, and environmental factors that impact our neighbors,” said David Wisehaupt, Chair, Palm Health Foundation Board of Trustees. “With community leading the way, we are embracing this broader idea of health and co-designing solutions with residents, grassroots organizations, system partners, and donors, resulting in national funding and recognition, including our role in Palm Beach County winning the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize.”

Palm Health Foundation’s grant funding is paving the way for everyone, from residents to leading health and academic institutions, to contribute to long-term impact. Examples include:

Cultivating Activated, Healthy, Resilient Communities

Pahokee resident Josie Hernandez had a vision for bringing the Hispanic community together in the Glades around health and wellness through a shared cultural experience – soccer. But the community had no soccer field. Palm Health Foundation’s Healthier Glades initiative invested in Hernandez to take advocacy training to be a catalyst for positive change. She utilized her learning to work with the City of Pahokee to create an agreement for the field and asked teachers and coaches to volunteer their services. Healthier Glades assisted with purchasing equipment and uniforms. When registration opened for the very first youth soccer club, 66 kids signed up immediately. The field is a permanent place for health and well-being, bringing together the Hispanic community.

Advancing Brain Health

The foundation granted $1 million from The Brain Health Innovation Fund to the Florida Atlantic University Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute to help launch its new Program in Computational Brain Science and Health. The gift supports new technologies, treatments, resources, and educational tools, including a fellowship program, to advance local brain health. Research fellows funded by the foundation’s gift will target data-intensive investigations underlying Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, depression, among others, contributing important knowledge and discoveries that will help to address some of our most pervasive and debilitating brain disorders. The foundation’s significant investment is one way they are working with partners to develop a brain-forward ecosystem in Palm Beach County that connects science, research, community, youth, health professionals and donors.

Addressing the Healthcare Workforce Crisis

Palm Health Foundation awarded $400,000 in scholarships for nursing and behavioral/mental health professions during 2022 to address the healthcare workforce crisis. The Florida Hospital Association and the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida is predicting a catastrophic nursing shortage in the state by 2035 and data from Kaiser Family Foundation shows the current supply of Florida’s working mental health professionals meets only 21% of the state’s need. The foundation’s scholarships address several needs for growing and diversifying the workforce pipeline, including increasing faculty and graduating health professionals with cultural competencies.

“Together with donors, residents, and community partners, we are growing a culture of health for all in Palm Beach County where new ideas and opportunities can flourish,” said Patrick McNamara, president and CEO of Palm Health Foundation. “As we look ahead to the next five years, we see ourselves as a health innovation hub, building connections and networks where everyone who is passionate about leading change for better health is welcome.” 

Palm Health Foundation’s grant and scholarship funding is made possible by the generosity of donors who contribute in a variety of ways, including through donor advised and endowed funds. The foundation works closely with donors to help them connect deeply with the local organizations and causes that resonate with them now and in the future. To learn more about giving at Palm Health Foundation, contact Carrie Browne, Director of Stewardship & Strategic Partnerships, carrieb@phfpbc.org, 561-837-2281.



To learn more about Palm Health Foundation’s community impact, visit palmhealthfoundation.org/stories-of-impact.