Cedar Rapids— Seven Eastern Iowa rural organizations are the recipients of $29,128.77 in grants as part of UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation’s Rural Healthcare Grant Program.

This program began in 1980 and has awarded 240 grants totaling $587,545 to support emergency medical and transportation services in Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Delaware, Iowa, northern Johnson, Jones and Linn counties.

In the early 1980s, St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation’s Board of Directors recognized the need to support rural communities, especially their Emergency Medical Services. The Foundation’s idea was to award small grants to rural Emergency Medical Service organizations to help them purchase equipment and provide funding for training/education. In the first year, the Foundation awarded three grants for $2,050.

“We are extremely proud of this program,” said Melissa Winter, president of St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation. “We continue to understand how hard it is for many of these volunteer-led organizations to have the financial support they need to operate. These grants allow these organizations to obtain state-of-the-art equipment and/or provide a non-emergency transportation program for their community.”

“Our Rural Healthcare Grant Program has been able to continue and grow due to the generosity of our donors,” said Winter. “From annual donations to endowments, we have been blessed to have community support for 40 years, which has allowed us to increase our funding to meet the growing needs of the rural organizations.”

The 2026 St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation’s Rural Healthcare Grant Program recipients are:

• Blairstown Volunteer Ambulance Service – 1 Nonin Pulse Oximeter/Case/Sensors; 1 Sapphire IV Pump/Case/Supplies; 1 EZ-IO Drill/Case/Needles; 1 RAD Pulse Oximeter Kit with Adult and Pediatric Sensors

• Central City Volunteer Fire Association – 2 Portable Suction Units

• Coggon Fire & Rescue Department – 2 Gluteal Injection Pads; 1 Tibial IO Pad; 1 Trauma Module Set; 1 Crash Kelly; 1 Compact Suction Unit

• Marengo First Responders – 3 Radios; 3 Pagers

• Palo Fire Department – 1 Portable Medical Suction Unit; 2 Pulse Oximeters; 2 CO Single Gas Detectors; 2 Ear Thermometers; 1 Capnography Monitor; 3 Handheld Portable Radios

• United Way of East Central Iowa – Jones and Benton County Transportation Programs

• Walker Fire Department – 2 Oxygen Bags; 1 Pulse Oximeter; 1 Curaplex Assure Prism Kit; 1 Stethoscope; 1 Sphygmomanometer

Community members can help support St. Luke’s Rural Healthcare Grant Program by giving contributions of any amount. Additional gifts build the endowment and helps fund even more rural healthcare needs.

For more information call St. Luke’s Foundation at 319-369-7716 or visit stlukesfoundation.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Corizzo, UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital, 319/369-8372 or 319/560-2385.

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