August 13, 2012 – Kaiser Permanente’s Gives Volunteer grant program has awarded Albertina Kerr a $15,000 grant to support crisis psychiatric services for children experiencing a severe, even life-threatening, mental health crisis.
The grant funding was received through the Kaiser Permanente Gives Volunteer grant program, which donates money to qualified charitable organizations to which Kaiser Permanente employees and clinicians donate their time. In the past 12 months, Rich Smith, JD, Vice President of Human Resources for Kaiser Permanente Northwest, has given more than 120 volunteer hours of volunteer services on the Albertina Kerr Board of Directors.
“Families turn to Albertina Kerr to provide a secure environment and immediate professional psychiatric care for children in crisis,” said Christopher Krenk, Albertina Kerr President and CEO. “By matching dollars to the volunteer board work of Rich Smith, Kaiser Permanente’s support ensures that Albertina Kerr is there when Oregon families need help most.”
Albertina Kerr’s Crisis Psychiatric Care Program provides short-term residential care (usually less than two weeks) and 24-hour access to mental health professionals for children with urgent mental health crises. Kerr works to stabilize children in crisis, provide effective mental health treatment and ultimately return the child to their home or a less intense level of care.
Approximately 350 Oregon children ranging in age from 5 to 17 receive services each year through Kerr’s Crisis Psychiatric Care. More than 75 percent of children who receive crisis psychiatric services show measurable improvements in high-risk behaviors and daily functioning. Private donations meet funding needs above basic care and help provide service for those who don’t meet strict
eligibility requirements, allowing Kerr to provide the highest quality services possible.
Every day Albertina Kerr helps children, families and adults living with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, empowering them to lead fuller, self-determined lives. A private non-profit organization founded in Portland in 1907, Kerr utilizes more than 91 cents of every dollar on programs and services for Oregonians.
August 14, 2012
