Funding Will Address Social Determinants of Health and Promote Employees’ Well-Being
The Barry S. Rabner Endowment, a Penn Medicine Princeton Health initiative to identify and eliminate key social factors that jeopardize staff members’ health and well-being, has received a substantial lift: a $100,000 gift from the medical staff. “As a group, we were eager to support this effort to empower our colleagues at Princeton Health,” said Grace Bialy, MD, president of the medical staff. “Thanks to this endowment, this innovative program will help eliminate obstacles to employees’ success and health.”
The medical staff has generously supported Princeton Health as well as its patients and staff members over the years. In 2018, for example, the medical staff pledged a $250,000 multiyear gift to bolster patient care in various Princeton Health divisions and support the Employee Benevolent Fund (EBF), which provides grants of up to $750 to employees facing economic hardships.
The Princeton Medical Center (PMC) Foundation administers the EBF and also directs the new endowment, which was established late last year to recognize the leadership of Rabner, who steps down March 1 after serving as president and CEO since 2002. Each year, nearly 100 Princeton Health staff members seek assistance through the EBF or request salary advances to meet emergency financial needs. In many cases, the financial challenges are the result of a change-in-life event, such as loss of a family income, illness, accident, or divorce. The EBF can be an important lifeline in such crises, but the one-time grants provide temporary solutions. In addition, the people who apply for assistance may represent only a portion of the staff members who face chronic challenges such as food insecurity; access to affordable, quality child care; reliable transportation; and housing.
The Rabner Endowment is intended to build on the work of the EBF by developing a program that goes beyond emergency assistance to identify and address the root causes of the financial challenges facing some Princeton Health employees. Princeton Health will partner with colleagues at Penn Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and our community to leverage their research and expertise and the available resources to support employees in need.
To learn more about the Rabner Endowment, visit https://tinyurl.com/5t43lvt9.