Cherokee County Benefits from Atrium Health Floyd-Polk Foundation Grants

$1.3 million impacts 43 community organizations across the region

ROME, Ga., June 20, 2025 – Atrium Health Floyd-Polk Foundation has again awarded $1.3 million in grants to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center and Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center that will be used to support 43 community agencies working to positively affect the health and well-being of citizens throughout the region.

The awards, which include more than $66,000 specifically earmarked for Cherokee County, Ala., were announced Wednesday at Berry College’s Christopher-Browning Pavilion at Oak Hill.

It marks the second consecutive year the Foundation has provided more than $1 million for such agencies across northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.

“There are so many organizations doing impactful work that truly improves the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Dan Bevels, Foundation president. “These grants will go a long way in helping them not only continue their efforts, but also expand them, creating even greater positive change in our communities.

“We saw nearly a 60% increase in applicants during this year’s grant cycle, which made the selection process incredibly difficult,” Bevels continued. “Every applicant is doing meaningful work and deserves support. We’re committed to finding ways to support whether through funding, educational resources, or collaborative opportunities.”

Atrium Health Floyd-Polk Foundation was established in 2021 as a result of the strategic combination of Floyd and Atrium Health. As a result of that combination, the parties along with the Hospital Authority of Floyd County and Cedartown-Polk County Hospital Authority wanted to create a lasting way to improve the communities they serve.

Registered non-profit, public charities and educational institutions serving Bartow, Chattooga, Floyd, Gordon and Polk counties in Georgia and Cherokee County, Alabama are eligible to apply for grant funds when the application process opens.

Applicants’ projects address access to health care or health-improvement programs, including those that focus on mental health and substance abuse; access to care; food access and security; housing security and heart health.

Funding aimed specifically at Cherokee County includes:

Cherokee Baptist Helping Hands Ministry, $10,000 – Works to support those who might need help with housing.

Children and Seniors Assistance Foundation, $7,500 – Supports those who are at risk of homelessness.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Cherokee County, $15,000 – Educates the local community on the importance of child abuse prevention and encourages active community involvement in protecting children.

Extended Family, $5,000 – Provides curriculum for students in grades K-12 in Cherokee County who have a loved one incarcerated.

Family Care Center Inc., $30,000 – Provides essential cooking staples to support families in need across Cherokee County.

Grants that fund agencies that cross county and/or state lines, helping Cherokee County residents, include:

Bloom our Youth, $25,000 – Supports at-risk youth by providing therapeutic mental health services and foster care support.

Cancer Navigators Inc, $9,000 – Will continue to increase access to care for cancer patients and help maintain a database to more adequately provide services.

Community Share Ministries, $100,000 – Provides hunger and homeless relief.

Exchange Club Family Resource Center, $105,950 – Works to prevent child abuse by supporting families by strengthening parenting and life skills.

Global Impact International, $70,000 – Will expand holistic prevention and intervention services at Restoration Rome, enhancing family reunification services.

NAMI Rome Inc., $5,000 – The organization advocates for better lives for individuals who have a mental illness.

Northwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition, $15,000 – Will help provide needed nutrition and cancer detecting screenings.

About Atrium Health Floyd
The family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd strategically combined with Harbin Clinic in 2024 and employs more than 5,200 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at four facilities: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 361-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health, also in Rome. Together, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic provide primary care, specialty care and urgent care throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.

About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Advocate Health is nationally recognized for its expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs more than 160,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.