News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Cookeville Regional Medical Center Foundation seeing an increase in aid requests.
CRMC Foundation Executive Director John Bell said the foundation helps residents regionwide by assisting them with paying for medical care. Bell said patients can request help by asking their physician about needing assistance. Bell said the foundation has received a 38 percent increase in aid requests in 2024.
“Some of that of course is just the economy and some of it is we don’t have as many healthcare resources maybe as some other large communities do,” Bell said. “A lot of that falls back on us to try to help with. Part of that is people are a little more aware that we are here to assist as well.”
Bell said all donations received will go strictly towards helping patients who otherwise would not be able to pay for the medical care they need. Bell said the foundation has helped over 3,000 patients in 2024 alone.
“The flip side is oftentimes we are not paying for an expensive medical need,” Bell said. “We are paying to keep a hospice patient in their home for their final weeks of life or we are paying to keep food on the table for a family whose dad is learning to walk again due to a stroke. Sometimes it is a very complex medical need and sometimes it is a simple home need.”
Bell said it was a blessing to be able to help that many people who needed assistance.
“No one plans to go through heart disease or a cancer diagnosis,” Bell said. “But it is fairly commonplace now and we have a lot of folks who don’t have the resources around them and the support network around them to manage that and we are thrilled that because of small and large donations from our community we are able to step in and help those folks who otherwise would just fall through the cracks.”
