Fundación Paso del Norte 2021 Annual Report
Paso del Norte Community Foundation 2021 Annual Report

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PDNHF

2021 Annual Report

A Letter From our Board Chair & CEO

Dear Friends:

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation (Health Foundation) has been committed to helping our region thrive for more than 25 years. We are focused on our purpose to promote health and prevent disease through active partnerships with board members, staff, grantees, stakeholders, and friends to achieve the possible: happy, healthy, and productive lives for the people of our binational, tri-state region.

Since our inception in 1995, the Health Foundation has invested $223.2 million in grants and charitable expenses with more than 300 nonprofit, academic, and community partners/coalitions. Over this last year, as part of our Strategic Plan 2025, we focused our grantmaking in three priority areas – Healthy Living, Disease Prevention and Management, and Health Leadership - while leveraging our leadership and resources to lift our community through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Dear Friends:

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation (Health Foundation) has been committed to helping our region thrive for more than 25 years. We are focused on our purpose to promote health and prevent disease through active partnerships with board members, staff, grantees, stakeholders, and friends to achieve the possible: happy, healthy, and productive lives for the people of our binational, tri-state region.

Since our inception in 1995, the Health Foundation has invested $223.2 million in grants and charitable expenses with more than 300 nonprofit, academic, and community partners/coalitions. Over this last year, as part of our Strategic Plan 2025, we focused our grantmaking in three priority areas – Healthy Living, Disease Prevention and Management, and Health Leadership - while leveraging our leadership and resources to lift our community through the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are pleased to share the impact of our work in 2021, which includes:

Priority Area: Healthy Living

Nutrition & Physical Activity

  • Provided $2.1 million in grants to 23 organizations including Otero Soil and Water Conservation District, Common Threads, and La Semilla to improve nutrition and increase physical activity.
  • Added new segments of the 68-mile planned Paso del Norte Trail including elements of the 8.3-mile Playa Drain Trail, which will soon be fully connected from Ascarate Park to Capistrano Park, and connections in Tornillo, bringing completed active trail miles to 23.

Smoke/Vape-Free Paso del Norte

  • Promoted a Vape-Free Paso del Norte with a dynamic media campaign aimed at educating parents about vaping devices used by youth and encouraging adults to take action for youth vaping prevention and cessation.
  • Launched a youth vaping prevention presentation for parents and school employees.

Healthy Kids

  • Provided $1.2 million in grants to 11 organizations including Salud y Desarrollo Comunitario de Cd. Juárez, A.C., Creative Kids and Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico to expand out-of-school time programs.
  • Supported the Borderland Out of School Time (BOOST) Network to expand quality after-school and summer programs for youth in partnership with United Way of El Paso County.

Priority Area: Disease Prevention and Management

Diabetes

  • Awarded $762K in grants to eight organizations like El Paso Children’s Hospital Foundation, El Paso Center for Diabetes, and PHIX to increase the availability of diabetes education and self-management programs.
  • Launched the Diabetes: Now What? campaign at the St. Rogers Depot in partnership with the Diabetes Alliance and recognized diabetes education providers with additional support from Macy’s and Walgreens.
  • Worked with PHIX Health Information Exchange to develop a bi-directional diabetes referral program to improve diabetes management.

Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being

  • Awarded $2 million in grants to 11 organizations like Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute of Texas, Comisión de Salud Fronteriza México-Estados Unidos, and the city of Alamogordo to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and support the El Paso Behavioral Health Consortium, Doña Ana County LC3 Collaborative, and ROTMENAS Collaborative in Cd. Juárez.
  • Launched the new Paso del Norte Center at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute with a $1.5 million, three-year commitment to increase access and awareness of mental health services in the region.
  • Completed the El Paso Behavioral Health Assessment to identify needs and set goals to improve mental and behavioral health services.
  • Supported the development of a new smartphone app and resources to improve behavioral health resource navigation in Cd. Juárez.

Priority Area: Health Leadership

REALIZE

  • Partnered with the United Way of El Paso County to provide nonprofit board training to more than 200 individuals through REALIZE Board with monthly, online “lunch and learns” and cohort training with 15 young leaders ready to serve on local boards.

Strategic Initiatives

  • Celebrated the groundbreaking of the Texas Tech Hunt School of Dental Medicine and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s 25th anniversary with a special event at Texas Tech, naming the new Oral Health Clinic building in honor of the Health Foundation’s silver anniversary and $11 million leadership gift.

Leveraging Resources

  • Leveraged grantmaking in partnership with the Paso del Norte Community Foundation and the Fundación Paso del Norte in Cd. Juárez, which awarded an additional $22.3 million and $1.06 million, respectively, in grants and charitable expenses in 2021.

Community Resilience

  • Provided $2.95 million in grants to 38 organizations to support nonprofit COVID-19 Preparedness, Recovery and Transformation throughout 2020 and 2021.
  • Continued the Reduce the Risk COVID-19 education and outreach campaign with support from a network of promotoras (community health workers) to support vaccines for the hardest-to-reach populations in partnership with the County of El Paso, Texas A&M Colonias Program, University of Texas at El Paso, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.
  • Developed a framework for disaster grantmaking and programmatic response for future emergencies.

In all, the Health Foundation invested $12.6 million in grants and charitable expenses with 97 grantees in 2021. We are pleased to provide you with this look-back and invite you to learn more about the work of the Health Foundation at pdnhf.org.

Sincerely,

Lisa Saenz

Chair, Board of Directors

Tracy J. Yellen

Chief Executive Officer

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Grant Information & Highlights

In 2021, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation worked to promote health and prevent disease through grantmaking, collaboration, communications, and advocacy in three main priority areas – Healthy Living, Disease Prevention and Management and Health Leadership – with the goal of ensuring that the residents of our region have the knowledge, resource, support, and environment needed to live happy, healthy, and productive lives – while also providing leadership and resources to lift our community through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Health Foundation’s impact is the result of valued partnerships to effectively plan and implement programs to improve health and quality of life. The Health Foundation invested $12.6 million in grants and charitable expenses with 97 grantees across the region. We are pleased to highlight just a few of the partnerships in 2021 that made an impact in our region. We invite you to learn more about the work of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation at pdnhf.org.

Healthy Living
Healthy Living

To support efforts that promote positive behaviors to prevent disease including healthy eating, physical activity, smoking/vaping prevention, and positive opportunities for youth, in 2021, the Health Foundation invested $3.5 million to support 44 grants under the Healthy Living priority area.

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Healthy Living
Healthy Living

To support efforts that promote positive behaviors to prevent disease including healthy eating, physical activity, smoking/vaping prevention, and positive opportunities for youth, in 2021, the Health Foundation invested $3.5 million to support 44 grants under the Healthy Living priority area.

Physical Activity

Regular physical activity is associated with positive health outcomes across the lifespan. In addition to decreasing people’s risk of chronic disease, physical activity can improve cognitive function in youth, reduce anxiety and depression risk and improve sleep, and reduce the risk of fall-related injuries in older adults. The Health Foundation’s stake in physical activity began in the early 2000s with Walk El Paso. More recently, the Health Foundation constructed the Playa Drain Trail and is partnering with regional stakeholders for the development of the Paso del Norte Trail network. Other areas of emphasis include the promotion of physical activity through educational programs, campaigns, and trail and park use.

Alamogordo Critter Trail

The Desert Critters Trail in Alamogordo, New Mexico was made possible with support from the City of Alamogordo, Otero Health Council Healthy Eating Active Living team, and funding from the Health Foundation. The trail offers residents an outdoor family activity to learn about local nature. The trail highlights 19 indigenous species of animals on stone monuments hidden throughout the park for people to locate as part of a scavenger hunt.

Healthy Eating

A high-quality diet with appropriate daily caloric intake provides essential nutrients, helps people maintain a healthy weight, and decreases their risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and some forms of cancer. Evidence clearly associates healthy eating with better health outcomes. However, many people do not consume the daily recommended levels of nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables, that make up a healthy diet. The Health Foundation’s focus in the Healthy Eating initiative is educational programs, such as nutrition and cooking classes, that influence behaviors in selecting, preparing, cooking, and eating healthy foods and policy/promotion activities that encourage healthy eating.

Common Threads

Common Threads is a nonprofit organization that works to equips children and families in under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious, and appealing food choices where they live, work, learn, and play. In 2021, Common Threads provided cooking classes to children and families in the Tornillo Independent School District to help them learn to make affordable, nutritious, and delicious meals at home. During the pandemic, programs were shifted to an online/virtual format, giving families the opportunity to learn how to make and enjoy healthy home-cooked meals together.

La Semilla Food Center

La Semilla Food Center’s Edible Education program engages students in a hands-on experience growing and cooking fruits and vegetables. One aspect of La Semilla’s school programming is Family Cooking Nights. In collaboration with Ngage NM, students receive a kid-safe knife to practice chopping and cooking vegetables with adult supervision. During the pandemic, Family Cooking Nights shifted to a virtual format, allowing La Semilla to bring Edible Education right into people’s homes. In addition to the abrupt necessity for home cooking, cooking meals at home became healthier and less expensive than eating at restaurants.

Smoke/Vape-Free Paso del Norte

The use of electronic cigarettes and youth vaping has overtaken smoking and has significantly increased among high school students. Science confirms that nicotine negatively affects the adolescent brain and is addictive. E-cigarette use among youth is linked with the use of other tobacco products as well as alcohol and marijuana abuse. The Health Foundation’s Smoke/Vape-Free Paso del Norte Initiative seeks to prevent and reduce the use of vaping devices through education and outreach to parents, teachers, and youth.

The Health Foundation partnered with EFO Media in 2021 to produce and promote materials designed to educate parents and teachers around the identification of vaping devices and to provide information to help parents talk to their children about the dangers of vaping.

Healthy Kids

Studies show that afterschool programs have a wide-ranging benefit for children including boosting academic performance, improving social skills, creating a positive environment for children to learn and grow, promoting health, and encouraging good habits. The Health Foundation’s Healthy Kids Initiative aims to engage disconnected youth ages 5-17 who are not involved in out-of-school activities, are not employed, and who do not have a trusted adult in their lives.

FEMAP/SADEC

FEMAP/SADEC in Cd. Juárez works to improve the health of children and families across Cd. Juárez – from providing critical health services to important community programs. In 2021, FEMAP/SADEC offered its National Dance Institute of NY (NDI)-inspired program-ValorArte - during afterschool hours to promote self-esteem, creative thinking, tolerance and respect for diversity, discipline, sense of belonging, teamwork, and the desire to learn. With the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons were online using virtual platforms such as Vimeo, Facebook, and WhatsApp. At the end of the grant cycle, youth showcased what they learned through video and photography.

Organization Grant List

Action for Healthy Kids - $52,500.00
Living Healthy and Tobacco Free: A coordinated approach to tobacco/vape free schools

Arbol de Vida - $145,807.35
Arbol de Vida’s HEAL Program

Border Partners - $122,882.00
Healthy Eating and Active Living in Palomas, Mexico

Boy Scouts of America Yucca Council - $42,868.37
Unidos Prosperamos

Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces, Inc. - $129,794.90
More Teens, More Often

Canutillo Independent School District - $24,777.50
CATCH the Eagles, if you can!

Centro de Asesoría y Promoción Juvenil, A.C. - $144,375.00
Formando Adolescentes Saludables en Entornos Positivos

City of Socorro - $46,156.22
Socorro Youth In Culture Program (SY!C)

Ciudadanos Comprometidos con la Paz, A.C. - $68,963.72
Movimiento Saludable

Common Threads - $18,079.00
Healthy Cooking and Nutrition Education for Tornillo Youth and Families

Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico - $209,079.30
“Kids Can” Youth Entrepreneur Program

Creative Kids, Inc. - $90,435.00
Project ABLE (Art Brokers Learning Experiences)

Desert Spoon Food Hub - $49,145.00
Tasters – Expanding Food Education Among School-Aged Children

El Paso Diabetes Association, Inc. - $13,530.00
Sabrosa Vida Cooking Classes

El Pasoans Fighting Hunger - $55,367.00
Converting El Paso Food Pantries to Client Choice Model

Families and Youth, Inc. - $46,423.09
The Learn and Play (LAP) Project

Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense, A.C. - $20,692.01
Shift Positive – I Make Good Decisions campaign

Fundación Pedro Zaragoza Vizcarra A.C. - $26,080.23
Programa de Atención Nutricional Para Niños En Cd. Juárez

Kelly Memorial Food Pantry - $171,171.00
FreshStart

La Semilla Food Center - $347,056.05
Edible Education and Community Education

Organización Popular Independiente, A.C. - $167,974.51
Superando el desafío: Regimen plant-based y actividades de movimento Niños, Niñas y Jóvenes en Acción: Actividades Extraescolares con Influencia Positiva

Otero Soil and Water Conservation District - $4,932.50
Desert Critters Trail

Paso del Norte Children’s Development Center – $108,562.66
Off to a Good Start: Eating Our Way to a Healthy Life

Salud y Desarrollo Comunitario de Cd. Juárez, A.C. - $170,538.50
Conectando con ValorArte y FEMAP en Conexión

Texas A&M University - $187,855.85
More Counts/Más Cuenta

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - $233,351.50
Primary Care Obesity Management: System Integration for La Clínica de Familia

United Way of El Paso County - $316,025.50
Healthy Kids Backbone Organization

Healthy Living program-related service contracts - $539,215.29

Disease Prevention & Management
Disease Prevention & Management

To support and improve efforts to prevent and manage diabetes, and mental illness across the region, in 2021, the Health Foundation invested $3 million to support 27 grants under the Disease Prevention and Management priority area.

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Disease Prevention & Management
Disease Prevention & Management

To support and improve efforts to prevent and manage diabetes, and mental illness across the region, in 2021, the Health Foundation invested $3 million to support 27 grants under the Disease Prevention and Management priority area.

Mental Health and Emotional Well-being

Nearly one in five people in the United States are living with a mental illness. During the pandemic, the numbers of children, adolescents and adults with depression and anxiety significantly increased. The Health Foundation’s Mental Health and Emotional Well-being Initiative seeks to reduce the stigma and negative bias associated with mental illness and increase access to mental and behavioral health services across the region.

Paso del Norte Center at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

To reduce the stigma related to mental illness, the Health Foundation launched the new Paso del Norte Center at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (The PdN Center). The PdN Center was established with a $1.5 million grant from the Health Foundation to the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to provide policy and program guidance for regional initiatives and advance mental health awareness efforts in the region. The PdN Center provides technical support and awareness to further the Health Foundation’s mental health and emotional well-being initiatives, including Think.Change, the El Paso Behavioral Health Consortium, and other regional consortia.

Diabetes

Four out of every 25 adult El Pasoans self-report a diabetes diagnosis; however, this number does not account for the people who are unknowingly living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. The Health Foundation’s Diabetes Initiative seeks to develop, lead, and fund organizational and systems improvements, evidence-based programs, and awareness activities for diabetes prevention, early detection, and management of diabetes.

Diabetes: Now What?

After a diabetes diagnosis is made, many ask the question, “now what?” To help provide the resources for those newly diagnosed with diabetes, the Health Foundation, El Paso Center for Diabetes, and Diabetes Alliance designed the Now What? campaign. The campaign was launched in November 2021 through a unique runway show at the St. Roger’s Depot featuring prominent El Pasoans living with diabetes. The interactive campaign is designed to help individuals diagnosed with diabetes find resources for disease management. The Now What? website www.epdiabetes.org/now-what/ includes lists of accredited diabetes prevention programs, diabetes self-management courses, support groups, cooking classes, and more.

Organization Grant List

Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Paso - $30,000.30
Destigmatizing Mental Illness through Mentorship and Mental Health First Aid

Borderland Rainbow Center - $7,335.00
Creating Culturally Competent Services for Deaf Clients

City of Alamogordo - $160,818.83
Improving Systems to Improve Care: Building a Culture of CIT in Alamogordo

Comisión de Salud Fronteriza México-Estados Unidos - $195,590.80
Proyecto ROTMENAS

El Paso Child Guidance Center - $206,382.79
Building a Trauma Informed Borderland

El Paso Children’s Hospital Foundation – $222,423.13
Empower Program: Pediatric Pre-diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Outpatient Education

El Paso Diabetes Association, Inc. - $207,297.29
Diabetes Education and Support Program and Diabetes Awareness and Advocacy Workgroup and Strategies

Emergence Health Network/El Paso MHMR - $271,581.07
Mental Health Learning Library

Families and Youth, Inc - $241,504.74
Local Collaboration 3 (LC3)

Family Services of El Paso, Inc. - $218,069.38
The People Empower El Paso (PEEP) Project

Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute of Texas - $500,000.00
The Paso del Norte Center at The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

New Mexico State University Foundation, Inc. - $43,181.03
National Diabetes Prevention Program
On the Road to Living Well with Diabetes

PHIX - $222,199.00
Diabetes Management and Tracking

Project Vida Health Center - $24,860.00
Diabetes Prevention Program

The University of Texas at El Paso – S19,459.00
Integrating Theory, Science, and Community Input to Promote Diabetes Management

YWCA El Paso del Norte Region - $101,415.00
Project ALMA (Active Learning Mindful Achievement)

Disease Prevention and Management program-related service contracts - $98,070.00

Health Leadership
Health Leadership

To support the leadership development of nonprofit and health leaders and nonprofit organizations by leveraging resources through partnerships, investing in strategic initiatives and catalytic projects, and responding to immediate needs (like COVID-19) for the benefit of the region’s health, in 2021, the Health Foundation invested $4 million to support 29 grants under the Health Leadership priority area.

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Health Leadership
Health Leadership

To support the leadership development of nonprofit and health leaders and nonprofit organizations by leveraging resources through partnerships, investing in strategic initiatives and catalytic projects, and responding to immediate needs (like COVID-19) for the benefit of the region’s health, in 2021, the Health Foundation invested $4 million to support 29 grants under the Health Leadership priority area.

Strategic Initiatives

The Health Foundation makes strategic investments in community initiatives and transformative projects that promote health and prevent disease in the region.

Texas Tech Hunt School of Dental Medicine

To support the growth of health occupations and the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso, the Health Foundation awarded an $11 million grant to establish the Texas Tech Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine. The $11 million commitment was made-up of two gifts: a $6 million commitment in 2016 to support the startup phase of the dental school to develop an innovative curriculum, hire world-class faculty, recruit the first class of students, and help leverage state funding and a second $5 million commitment made in 2021 to support dental school operations and enable the school to be a leader in oral healthcare in the region. This collaboration will help provide affordable dental services where only half of El Paso adults visit a dentist every year. In El Paso County, there’s only one dentist for every 4,840 residents, compared to the national average of one dentist for every 1,638. The first cohort of 40 dental students started in July 2021, with classes growing to 60 students in subsequent cohorts.

Community Resilience

In difficult times, like the August 3, 2019 shooting and COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Foundation is committed to being there when the community needs us most by providing leadership for crisis response and other emergent health needs. Looking past immediate needs and short-term responses related to COVID-19, the Health Foundation designed a Recovery, Preparedness, and Transformation program to help nonprofit organizations recover from the pandemic, prepare for future waves of crises, and transform organizations. More than $3.4 million was granted to 41 nonprofit organizations in the region. The Health Foundation further partnered with the County of El Paso and other stakeholders to Reduce the Risk of COVID-19.

Reduce the Risk Pop-Up Vaccination Clinics

According to health data and focus groups conducted by the Health Foundation in 2021, men ages 18-50 years old in El Paso were among the least vaccinated and least inclined to get vaccinated in the region. With support from the County of El Paso, in partnership with the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, the Health Foundation led a pop-up vaccine initiative to make it easier for this harder-to-reach group to get the vaccine and Reduce the Risk of COVID-19. More than 300 vaccines were administered at local high schools, movie theaters, apartment complexes, and events, and 36,000 more individuals were vaccinated in the 79936, 79938, 79924, and 79912 ZIP codes as a result of the promotional efforts. Vaccine pop-ups were supported by key vaccination partners including Texas Tech University Health Sciences El Paso, American Heart Association, Texas Department of State Health Services, University Medical Center, Centro San Vicente, Emergency District #2, and Immunize El Paso.

Organization Grant List

Alianza para Colaboraciones Fronterizas A.C. - $45,045.00
Efecto Domino. Promotores Comunitarios en Salud y COVID-19

Barracuda Public Relations, LLC - $478,450.00
Support for the COVID-19 Response Fund

Border Partners – S14,850.00
Pandemic Relief in Palomas, Chihuahua, México and surrounding Communities

Centro de Asesoría y Promoción Juvenil, A.C. - $68,530.00
Recuperación y transformación de CASA frente al COVID-19

Children at Risk - $10,000.00
Texas Family Leadership Council’s Health Advisory Workgroup and Annual Food Rankings

Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico - $114,950.00
“Reduce the Risk”: Promotoras COVID-19 Education and Outreach

Desert Spoon Food Hub - $43,767.85
Desert Spoon Food Hub Supply Chain Preparedness Plan

El Paso Child Guidance Center - $125,099.73
Extending Healing and Hope: Strengthening the Disaster Resilience of the El Paso Child Guidance Center

Fundación Paso del Norte - $350,292.72
Strengthen and Leverage Resources

Insights-El Paso Science Center Inc. - $33,140.00
Walk STEAM Augmented Reality DinoTracks Hiking Tour Transformation & Recovery

Kelly Memorial Food Pantry - $67,248.42
Kelly Adaptations

Kids Excel El Paso, Inc. - $17,796.90
Kids Excel Virtual Arts Education Outreach Program

NAMI El Paso Inc. - $53,940.00
Preparing NAMI El Paso for The Future

Organización Popular Independiente, A.C. - $22,810.28
Superando el COVID-19: Tecnología y Fuerza al Personal

Paso del Norte Community Foundation - $49,513.88
Support for the COVID-19 Response Fund, Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation and El Paso Cancer Feasibility Study

Programa Compañeros, A.C. - $24,576.20
Unificando esfuerzos para la respuesta efectiva a la pandemia de COVID-19

Project Amistad - $36,410.00
Amistad’s Resiliency Project

Recovery Alliance of El Paso - $159,679.20
From Crisis to Communication and Collaboration: Re-envisioning Communities of Recovery

Texas A&M University - $360,450.65
Community Outreach & Education and Colonias Project Cares

Texas Tech Foundation Inc. - $1,250,000.00
Establishing the Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine

The Arc of El Paso - $4,502.50
Helping People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Respond to COVID-19

The University of Texas at El Paso - $380,722.00
Reaching Underserved Communities with Promotores de Salud for COVID-19 Outreach and Business Ethics Program

United Way of El Paso County - $113,942.00
Transformation to a Modern United Way

Health Leadership program-related service contracts - $173,400.00

Grants & Finances

The Health Foundation ended the year with $287.1 million in assets, up from $130 million in 1995 keeping administrative expenses less than 1 percent of foundation assets and bringing total grantmaking since inception to nearly $223.2 million.

View Grant List
Grantmaking in our Health Priority Areas

The Health Foundation invested $12.6 million in grants and charitable expenses through 97 grants across three priority areas to expand the opportunity for individuals to live healthy lives.

Investments

A Community of Philanthropy

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation was established in 1995 from the sale of Providence Memorial Hospital to Tenet Healthcare Corporation with an initial $130 million from the proceeds of the sale. It is a supporting organization to the Paso del Norte Community Foundation and works with the Fundación Paso del Norte, a Juárez-based nonprofit.

The Paso del Norte Community Foundation is a public charity established in 2013 to support the philanthropic goals of individuals, families, corporations, foundations, and nonprofit organizations to improve education, health, social services, economic development, and quality of life in the Paso del Norte region.

The Fundación Paso del Norte is a Juárez-based nonprofit organization established in 2015 by the Health Foundation to lead and promote partnerships and initiatives to improve health and quality of life for people in the Ciudad Juárez, México, region.

A Tribute to Myrna J. Deckert

In March 2021, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation gathered with family and friends to celebrate the life and legacy of former Health Foundation CEO and community leader Myrna J. Deckert, who passed away on September 11, 2020. Ms. Deckert was an extraordinary leader committed to improving health, education, economic development, and quality of life in our region. As CEO of the Health Foundation from 2007 - 2016, she developed a Regional Framework for Health and established the REALIZE leadership development program, the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, the Fundación Paso del Norte, and PHIX Health Information Exchange. She supported the economic growth of the city and was a champion for the advancement of women and girls locally and nationally. Ms. Deckert touched the lives of many in this region and is truly missed. Her legacy continues with the Myrna and Ray Deckert Fund for Health Leadership in the Paso del Norte Community Foundation.