Little Treasures Childcare and Family Center - $10,000 to provide family support services and fund a temporary preschool classroom.

Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Network of Minnesota Regional Resource Center - $10,000 for the expansion of WarmLines, a peer- supported phone services for consumers of mental health services.

Miller-Dwan Medical Center Adolescent Mental Health Department  - $8,300 to purchase books, movies, games and art supplies to better educate patients and enrich their experience.

Miller-Dwan Medical Center Behavioral Health - $1,651 to provide a course on how to assess Tardive Dsykinesia, a neurologic disorder brought on by certain medications and causes repetitive, purposeless muscle movements.

Miller-Dwan Medical Center Behavioral Health Department - $12,551 to perform a study that will determine the effectiveness of ketamine on treating major depressive disorder.

Miller-Dwan Medical Center CyberKnife Department - $15,000 toward the purchase of waiting room furniture.

Miller-Dwan Medical Center CyberKnife Department - $20,000 toward the purchase of a patient information archival and retrieval system that will expedite the CyberKnife process for patients.

Miller-Dwan Medical Center Outpatient Surgery - $12,400 to purchase a Verathon Bladder Scan BUI 9400 for a non-invasive, three dimensional ultrasound that is an alternative to catheterization. 

Miller-Dwan Medical Center Outpatient Wound Department - $3,480 to purchase a Micro Vas Electrical Stimulation Unit that delivers electronic waves stimulating blood flow, tissue oxygenation, and antibiotic effectiveness to aid in wound healing.

Miller-Dwan Surgical Services Department - $50,000 toward the renovation of an ENT operating room.

Minnesota Teen Challenge – Duluth Campus - $10,000 to help renovate and purchase furniture for an additional 16 beds in their residential drug and alcohol treatment. 

North Country R.I.D.E. and Arc Northland - $5,340 for the development of a pilot program focused on helping youth affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Safe Haven Shelter for Battered Women - $15,000 to fund the construction and renovation of the Medical Exam Room in the new Lake Superior Regional Family Justice Center, a one-stop resource center providing a secure location with the expertise necessary to help victims of domestic abuse navigate through their transition.

Saint Mary’s/Duluth Clinic - $60,000 toward the development of a clinical education program for nurses.

University of St. Thomas - $15,000 to study the medical and occupational well being of musicians after breast cancer.

Grants from the Van Gorden Fund of the Miller-Dwan Foundation

The Van Gorden Fund provides support to organizations in our region dedicated to providing people with injuries or physical disabilities assistance to reach their highest possible level of function. The following grants were awarded from this fund.

Center for Independent Living of Northeastern Minnesota - $10,000 for the establishment of an assistive technology demonstration and lending lab that will allow people with physical challenges to try, borrow and learn how to use equipment that can assist them with everyday life.

Courage – Duluth - $4,892 to fund an adaptive skiing workshop for children and adults with physical disabilities.

Duluth Clinic Therapy Center - $4,450 to offer training in Brain Gym, a system of movements which facilitate whole brain learning.

Duluth Clinic Therapy Center - $5,099 to purchase high-speed motion analysis equipment to evaluate and identify adverse patterns of movement in people following injury or surgery, allowing physical therapists to structure an intervention that will correct those patterns.

Miller-Dwan Rehabilitation Center - $10,497 to purchase environmental control devices to increase the independence of patients with functional limitations while in the hospital, by allowing patients to control everything in their environment by switch or voice command. 

Miller-Dwan Rehabilitation Center - $6,103 to purchase a Ventilator monitor alarm and pager to will allow nursing staff greater mobility while ensuring patient safety and comfort. 

Miller-Dwan Medical Center Speech Therapy Department - $62,311 for the purchase of a digital swallowing workstation that will provide comprehensive assessment and treatment for swallowing disorders.

Miller-Dwan Rehabilitation Center - $13,188 for the purchase of SaeboStretch and SaeboFlex splints, which improve the treatment and outcome for patients that have weakness in their arms and hands.

Minnesota Ballet - $3,000 to maintain their creative dance program for children with challenges. 

Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center - $7,000 to purchase updated diagnostic equipment to treat patients experiencing dizziness or loss of balance with vestibular disorders.

Polinsky Rehabilitation Center - $10,500 for the purchase of an X3 pressure mapping system that provides detailed information about weight dispersal to allow patients to get the most comfortable cushions possible and learn about proper weight shifting techniques.

Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center - $9,195 to purchase a Hand Mentor, annual service agreement and necessary electrodes.

SMDC Rehabilitation Services - $5,606 to fund the two-day Myokinematic Restoration course for thirty therapists.  Taught by the Postural Restoration Institute, this course will instruct the therapists in an approach that addresses underlying biomechanics, which can often lead to symptoms of pain and dysfunction.

Think First Collaborative of Duluth - $3,000 to provide outreach presentations to local elementary, middle and high school students free of charge in order to create an awareness of the causes and results of head and spine injuries.

Wheels on Trails - $3,680 to assess the accessibility of Duluth’s walking trails. This will ultimately enable all people to be able to use the trails safely.