The Salem Memorial Hospital ToRCH Community Leadership Board is excited to announce another round of community grants through the Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH) Project. These grants are designed to enhance the capacity of our community partners to support the goals identified by the ToRCH initiative.
Salem Memorial Hospital is proud to collaborate with MO HealthNet as one of six hospitals participating in the ToRCH pilot program. This innovative program focuses on improving health outcomes for Medicaid patients residing in the six pilot counties by addressing upstream causes of poor health, such as social determinants of health. The ToRCH pilot program aims to integrate social care supports into clinical care, reducing the impact of social challenges on health outcomes.
Through partnerships with organizations including Healthy Dent County, Compass Health, Dent County Health Center, Aging Best, South Central Missouri Community Area Action Agency, and Four Rivers Community Health Center, the ToRCH project is making strides in advancing community health initiatives.
The Community Leadership Board has identified the following population health goals for Dent County. While your program may not directly address these goals, we encourage all applicants to consider how their work may support or complement these efforts, either directly or indirectly.
• Increase dental care access for Medicaid members under 21
• Improve blood pressure control among Medicaid members 18–85 with hypertension
• Improve diabetes control among Medicaid members 18–64 with Type 1 or 2 diabetes
• Reduce ER visits for Medicaid members 18–75 with COPD
• Increase 7-day follow-up visits after ED visits for mental health or self-harm (ages 18–64)
The ToRCH Community Leadership Board will be awarding grants to address gaps in available services within the community. These grants are intended to resolve capacity and resource issues that may arise due to the smaller scale of operations. Potential uses for the funding include expanding staffing, securing larger facilities, purchasing necessary equipment, and overcoming logistical challenges. Grant categories include Community Service, Transportation, Behavioral Health Access, Diabetes Prevention, Food Insecurity, Maternal/Child Health, Obesity Prevention, Primary Care Access, and Quality of Life.
Grant application details:
• Application deadline: July 14, 2025
• Proposals awarded by: Aug. 11, 2025
• Maximum funding amount: $240,000
• Grant project time frame: Aug. 2025-Sept. 2026
To support community engagement and provide an opportunity for open dialogue, two Q&A sessions will be held at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Each session will cover the same information and provide an opportunity to ask questions about the grant process and the ToRCH initiative and will be held Friday, June 27 at 9:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m.
All interested community members and potential applicants are encouraged to attend.
Any organization that needs further information or to request an application, please contact Tabitha Stanfast, TORCH Program Manager, at tstanfast@smdh.net.
