The Memorial Medical Center Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in health-related grants for community and health-system initiatives.

Thirty projects received amounts ranging from nearly $405 to more than $68,000. Nineteen grants were awarded to projects within Memorial Health System, nine to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and two to nonprofit community organizations.

Since 1984, the Foundation has distributed an estimated $8 million in health-related grants. The deadline for the next round of grant applications is Feb. 1, 2016.

“These grant applications are outstanding initiatives. They support Memorial’s mission to improve the health of the people and communities we serve, and they will help advance patient care, education and clinical research,” said Elena Kezelis, the Foundation’s executive director.

The grant recipients are:

SIU School of Medicine Department of Surgery: $68,720 to conduct a pilot study of male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) scheduled for bariatric surgery in order to evaluate the link between obesity and its effect on LUTS.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Surgery-Otolaryngology: $52,163 to provide listening and spoken language services via teletherapy to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases: $49,901 to study the molecular epidemiology of a drug-resistant infection that has affected patients at Springfield’s hospitals.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Plastic Surgery: $46,161 to assess long-term outcomes and identify factors that determine effectiveness of botulin, a bacterial toxin, to treat symptoms of Raynaud’s disease.

Memorial’s Organization Development: $39,300 to buy an automated system to manage continuing education of employees.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Surgery: $34,534 to develop an online training program using gaming methodology to practice clinical decision-making and task triage in trauma situations.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Disease: $28,476 to conduct a pilot study of 50 pediatric patients with Staphylococcus aureus abscesses to determine whether antibiotics have an effect on colonization and recurring infection.

Memorial Weight Loss & Wellness Center: $23,539 to obtain recognition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a diabetes prevention recognition program and develop a community-based program to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes through lifestyle changes.

Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation: $22,607 to support needs in the new facility.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Plastic Surgery: $19,894 to buy a camera, coupler and software to improve the school’s imaging capabilities for research purposes, including the analysis of cells and tissues.

SIU School of Medicine Department of Medical Education: $13,444 to investigate physician-patient communication skills and improve training and assessment of these skills.

Memorial Health System’s Simulation and Clinical Development Department: $9,200 to fund a one-day comprehensive perioperative conference for registered nurses and interdisciplinary colleagues to learn about patient-centered care and methodologies for improving quality patient outcomes.

Midwest Healthcare Quality Alliance: $8,190 to fund a symposium on strategies for simulation and learning.

Memorial Health System’s Simulation and Clinical Development Department: $8,000 to fund a one-day comprehensive critical care conference for registered nurses who use bedside cardiac monitoring.

Memorial Health System’s Simulation and Clinical Development Department: $8,000 to fund a conference about quality and safety issues that impact patient outcomes and enhance critical thinking of clinical employees.

Memorial Medical Center and SIU School of Medicine: $7,895 to fund the 21st Annual Wound Care Symposium for healthcare professionals in the community.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $7,548 to fund a study to determine the impact of using clinical simulation and teach-back to train registered nurses how to assess a patient’s blood pressure.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $7,479 to study whether six predetermined risk factors play a role in a patient’s risk of an emergency event after being discharged from the post-anesthesia care unit.

Memorial Health System’s Simulation and Clinical Development Department: $7,300 to fund a one-day conference about heart failure for registered nurses and inter-professional colleagues to learn about new research, evidence-based practices and program development.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $6,825 to create mock cardiac arrest scenarios using a patient mannequin to increase knowledge of CPR.

Memorial Medical Center’s Clinical Ethics Center: $6,600 to fund a series of educational opportunities about ethical issues healthcare providers may encounter.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $5,690 to study postoperative pain management in total hip or knee replacement surgical patients.

Memorial Medical Center’s Nursing Research Council: $4,800 to fund the 2016 Annual Nursing Research Conference.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $4,750 to fund a study of patient readiness for discharge to reduce seven-day readmission rates.

Memorial Heart and Vascular Services: $2,640 to buy four iPads and related equipment to educate patients and families about managing heart failure.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $2,610 to buy software for data management and analysis of nursing research study statistics.

genHkids: $2,500 to determine the amount of food wasted by children in Sangamon County during school lunch.

Greater Springfield Chamber Foundation: $1,309 to train staff of The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce in CPR and the use of an AED and to buy an AED for Chamber events.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $405 to analyze the perceptions of nurses regarding national certification and to determine strategies to promote nursing certifications.

Memorial Medical Center’s Division of Nursing: $405 to develop a survey for nurses that will evaluate system changes made to Rapid Response Team services.

The Memorial Medical Center Foundation secures financial support and awards grants for health-related services that benefit people served by Memorial Health System, its affiliates and other nonprofit community organizations.

The Foundation makes grants only to central Illinois organizations with 501(c)(3) classifications in communities served by Memorial Health System. Grants are not awarded to individuals.

For more information about the Foundation’s programs and services or its grant-application process, call (217) 788-4700. Information and grant applications also are available on the Foundation’s website at MemorialMedicalFoundation.com.

The Foundation’s officers are Bridget L. Lamont, chair; Rob Pietroburgo, vice chair; Ann Coombe, treasurer; G. Virginia Conlee, secretary; Robert W. Kay, assistant treasurer; and Edgar J. Curtis, president.

Other board members are R. Lee Allen, John “Marty” Green, Dr. David L. Griffen, Jennifer Isringhausen, Cherrilyn Mayfield, James Walter Reed Jr., J. William Roberts, Henry Dale Smith Jr., Val Yazell and Dr. Donald H. Yurdin.