Marquette, MI – Nov 6, 2026 - The Superior Health Foundation announced $467,000 in funding across 14 grants in its final grant cycle of 2026, including $50,000 U.P. Health Impact Grants to Room at the Inn and Community Health Access Coalition that keep access to care in place to fill a gap while long-term funding is received. The awards also include seven additional U.P. Health Impact Grants and five Equipment Grants addressing behavioral health, healthy food and wellness, chronic disease, access to care, accessibility, safety, and hospice.
"We received 26 applications this cycle, and the number of U.P. Health Impact Grant requests was the highest we’ve seen all year. Room at the Inn and the Community Health Access Coalition each have a gap in their timeline, but a strong plan to sustain their work. A patient leaving the hospital needs a safe place to recover. As new Medicaid requirements take effect, families need a trained CHAC navigator to help them keep their coverage. Our $50,000 grants keep both in place until long-term funding arrives." said Superior Health Foundation CEO Megan Murphy.
Room at the Inn received $50,000 to open a three- to four-bed interim recuperative care home in Marquette. No recuperative care program currently exists in the U.P., so hospitals discharging medically stable patients experiencing homelessness must either keep them longer than necessary or release them to emergency shelters that are full and not built for post-acute recovery, or worse, to unsheltered settings. The interim home will serve an estimated 15 to 20 people in its first year through referrals from hospitals and medical providers across the U.P., offering lodging, meals, transportation to appointments, benefits navigation, and care coordination. It bridges the time until Room at the Inn opens a permanent facility, supported by a federal grant in 12 to 18 months, covering this urgent need in the meantime.
"For years we have witnessed medically vulnerable people leave the hospital with nowhere safe to recover - not because they needed to remain hospitalized, but because an appropriate option for discharge did not exist in the U.P. While we have significant investment for a permanent recuperative care facility in the future, this investment from the Superior Health Foundation allows us to open that door and begin serving medically frail people with dignity ASAP - putting years of regional planning and partnership into practice." said Chelsie Wilkinson, Executive Director of Room at the Inn.
Community Health Access Coalition (CHAC) received $50,000 to keep its certified enrollment navigator staff on the job from January through March 2027, covering the gap until millage funding begins. Enrollment staff help residents of Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac counties apply for and keep Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace coverage, and apply for hospital financial assistance, at no cost. Without bridge funding, CHAC would need to cut certified positions and rehire them a few months later.
A full list of funded projects is below.
2026 Q4 U.P. HEALTH IMPACT GRANT RECIPIENTS
Community Health Access Coalition | Access to Healthcare Transitional Funding | $50,000.00
Delta Regional Child Advocacy Center | CARE for Kids: Pediatric Traumatic Stress Screening and Care Coordination | $75,000.00
Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan | U.P. Epilepsy Access and Safe Communities Initiative | $42,206.00
Forever Friendship Drop-In Center | Healthy Lifestyles | $15,000.00
From the Ground Farmers Market Collective | Strengthening Community Health Through Local Food Infrastructure | $60,000.00
Room at the Inn | Recuperative Care Pilot House | $50,000.00
Special Needs Are Awesome People | Health and Wellness Project | $12,500.00
Start the Cycle | Start the Cycle Executive Director | $50,000.00
Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress | The Upper Peninsula Food As Medicine Program | $75,000.00
2026 Q4 EQUIPMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS
Gladstone Area Schools | Inclusive Elementary Playgrounds | $10,000.00
Helen Newberry Joy Hospital & Healthcare Center | HNJH Defibrillator Replacement & Standardization Project | $10,000.00
Hospice of the EUP | Ball Hospice House Patient Equipment Upgrades | $8,650.00
Neebish Island Improvement Association | Medical Trauma Bags | $1,050.00
Omega House | Blanket Warmer | $7,856.99