Guthrie Awards Grant to Support Towanda Area Outdoor Learning

November 18, 2020
Dennis Peachey, Superintendent, Towanda Area School District, holding a rendering of the outdoor classroom.
Dennis Peachey, Superintendent, Towanda Area School District, holding a rendering of the outdoor classroom.

Guthrie's Community Benefit Grant Program awarded $500 to Towanda Area Education Foundation Corporation in support of their construction of an outdoor learning classroom. The outdoor area will provide an opportunity for Towanda Area elementary school students to learn outdoors, social distance, and provide teachers with a location to help students develop a greater STEM foundation while following the current state guidelines.

This grant was awarded as part of Guthrie’s Community Benefit Grant Program, which funds projects based on Guthrie’s Community Health Needs Assessment. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires non-profit hospitals to complete a community needs assessment (CHNA) every three years. The following areas of need were identified for 2020-2023: obesity, access to mental health providers, and cancer incidence with a focus on tobacco usage.

Guthrie is a non-profit integrated health system located in north central Pennsylvania and upstate New York, serving patients from a twelve-county service area. Guthrie is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network and is the first health system based in Pennsylvania and New York to join this network. Guthrie is comprised of a research institute, home care/hospice, hospitals in Sayre, Pa., Corning, N.Y., Towanda, Pa., Troy, Pa. and Cortland, N.Y., as well as a multi-specialty group practice of more than 325 physicians and 210 advanced practice providers offering 47 specialties through a regional office network providing primary and specialty care in 22 communities in Pennsylvania and New York. In addition, Guthrie offers home medical equipment and respiratory therapy products at seven convenient Med Supply Depot locations. Guthrie provides a wide range of services and programs to enhance the health and well-being of those it serves.