Blue Cross Grant Will Help Families Impacted by Life-Altering Injuries
Blue Cross Grant Will Help Families Impacted by Life-Altering Injuries
By Rich Collins
NEW ORLEANS — The Split Second Foundation announced that it has received a $98,300 grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation to help fund its Split Second Cares Program. A full-time director will operate the initiative, which will provide mental and emotional health services to individuals and families impacted by life-altering injuries.
SSF Founder Mark Raymond Jr. said Split Second Cares will fill a gap in services that weren’t available to him in 2016, when a boating accident left him a C-5 quadriplegic.
“My family and I were left thinking, ‘Now what?’ Your world is turned upside down and there are no maps or people to show you what you need, what support is available,” said Raymond in a press release. “That all changes with Split Second Cares.”
Raymond said the program will feature “evidence-based mental health therapies, support groups, case management and resource navigation for individuals living with a disability and their caregivers.” A previous Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation grant allowed SSF to create program metrics, an evaluation framework, partnerships and a pilot. The program will work in tandem with Split Second Fitness, a facility Raymond opened in 2021 to help people living with disabilities.
“When someone sustains a life-changing injury, they need and deserve answers, not just kind words,” Raymond said. “When we started this foundation, we wanted to ‘transform hope into action,’ and Split Second Fitness and Split Second Cares are those actions that will deliver positive results for our community.”
