Imagine being taken to a hospital by ambulance and then realizing you have no way to get back to your home after being treated. For some area elderly patients and those who are homeless, the situation is real. That’s why the Tomah Health Community Foundation has donated $1,000 to help fund the Lend a Hand program at Tomah Health.
“It’s wonderful and we’re very appreciative of their (foundation’s) support and helping these patients in our community to assist them when they are in their biggest need,” said Tomah Health Patient and Family Services social worker Kaelyn Laylan, CSW, who helps to coordinate the hospital assistance program.
The Lend a Hand program was started two years ago when hospital officials recognized a growing need to assist those who had no resources. “Our most used resource is transportation; rides back from the ER (emergency room),” Laylan said. “A lot of times patients are brought in via ambulance and then need a ride back home.” 
She said the foundation’s support will help to fund the program which in turn helps officials purchase gas gift cards for those in need. “We’ve also had patients who are homeless, and we’ve given them gift cards to purchase clothes, food and sometimes we’ll help with medications if needed,” Laylan said. “We find a lot of patients who just don’t have money on them when brought into the hospital or don’t have friends or family in the area to help.”
Over the past year, the program has assisted 100 patients including 88 requiring transportation, eight who needed help with medications and four who needed clothing.
This year’s donation is the second consecutive year the Foundation has supported the program. “We thought it was really wonderful that we could help people out with, for instance gas money, for them to be able to get to the hospital or to get back home again,” said foundation vice president Brian Eirschele. “It just seemed like such an obvious consideration for those who are in need and allows us to help reach out to people who are less fortunate, perhaps, in our community that need help and assistance.”