Grantmakers in the News
January 1, 2007
Name: Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund
Address: Dept. 72
Washington, DC 20055-0072
URL: www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org
The Washington, D.C.-based Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund has awarded a $2 million grant to the Community Foundation of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana to help residents of Cameron Parish, which was devastated by Hurricane Rita in September 2005.
The hurricane destroyed South Cameron Memorial Hospital, the parish's only acute care hospital, and medical care for the population remains absent except for ambulance service in the southern part of the parish. The grant, to be administered by the community foundation, will support the hospital's workforce development and salaries of those who provide healthcare services to a medically underserved area of rural southern Louisiana.
"The rebuilding of South Cameron Memorial Hospital is the most important event to date in the recovery of Cameron Parish from Hurricane Rita," said Greg Fawvor, secretary/treasurer of the Lower Cameron Hospital Service District Board.
Prior to Hurricane Rita, South Cameron Memorial Hospital was a twenty-five-bed acute care hospital with a twenty-nine-bed geriatric psychiatric facility, and a provider-based rural health clinic. The hospital, the second-largest employer in the parish, also serves as the first point of medical service for all offshore drilling and production facilities off the Gulf Coast.
"A hospital is often the cornerstone of a community and not just in providing health care," said former President Clinton. "It is a major employer and it's a magnet for people looking to move to the area. They need to know they can get health care. With this grant, south Cameron is well on its way toward reestablishing this important community facility, and I am very happy to join with President Bush in providing assistance to the people of Cameron Parish."
The Community Foundation of Arcadiana will administer the grant. The Foundation is the primary charitable organization in Arcadiana, servicing the eight-parish area including Arcadia, Evangline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion parishes. The Foundation's geographic scope is broadened to include the parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis, and Terrabonne in its efforts to attract and provide resources for hurricane recovery and redevelopment through its South Louisiana Rural Recovery Rund.
To date the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund has raised $130 million, allocated as follows:
$30 million to 33 institutions of higher education, including universities, colleges, community colleges and technical training institutions;
$40 million for funds in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to fill unmet needs in their states;
$25 million to religious organizations throughout the region;
$35 million for projects focused on health, housing, education, community and infrastructure needs.
The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund seeks to make a distinctive impact on unmet needs in the Gulf region through grants helping to create financial self-sufficiency for individuals and communities, foster economic opportunity for the people and organizations in the Gulf, and improve the quality of life for people impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
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