The Ripple Effect: OPTIMUS Health Care

You never know what may come from being in the room where it happens!

We are thrilled to share an astonishing ripple effect stemming from Impact Fairfield County’s Grant Awards Celebration in May 2024. OPTIMUS Health Care, one of our five finalists, made such a moving presentation to our membership that, although they did not end up winning one of our $100,000 grants, a woman at the event was inspired to fully fund their OB Patient Navigator program in Stamford with a private $100,000 anonymous gift.

The OB Patient Navigator program, which was successfully piloted in Bridgeport, addresses the stark disparity of maternal mortality rates between under-resourced communities and other neighborhoods. By hiring an OB Patient Navigator, OPTIMUS enhances the coordination of care and addresses non-clinical barriers, improving the frequency of care, post-partum health, and access to essential resources.

At our Grant Awards Celebration, OPTIMUS highlighted the dire need for their service, shared their success stories from Bridgeport, and clearly made their case for expanding this program to Stamford. However, facing strong competition, OPTIMUS walked away with only a smaller finalist Operating Grant. A few days later, OPTIMUS received a call from a Grant Awards Celebration attendee with a solution: this woman offered to fund the OB Patient Navigator program through her family foundation! When asked about the inspiration for her gift, the donor explained that she views it as an investment in our community, a way to help solve a critical unmet need. Having daughters herself, she imagined the anxiety they might face by not having the right medical care or the resources to bring a child into the world.

OPTIMUS attributes the donor’s support in large part to Impact FFC’s thoughtful approach to our grant process. By publicizing an executive summary and social media post for each finalist, Impact FFC offers its members and guests valuable tools to learn about the essential services nonprofits provide to our community.