SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Pepsi Beverages Company recently pledged up to $455,000 to support key initiatives at Saratoga Hospital, including programs that provide affordable care to the underserved, services to prevent and treat substance abuse and nursing education.

“Pepsi has long been a wonderful partner of Saratoga Hospital and our community,” said Mary Solomons, executive director of the Saratoga Hospital Foundation, in a press release. “Each year, thousands of patients benefit from programs that Pepsi’s generosity helps make possible.

The 10-year commitment continues Pepsi’s traditional support of Saratoga Hospital’s two annual fundraisers: the gala, which benefits the hospital’s Saratoga Community Health Center, and the program’s invitational golf hospital nursing scholarship.

Funds are also being set aside for Saratoga Hospital’s Interdisciplinary Opioid Management Program, which aims to reduce the use of opioids for chronic pain relief. The innovative program integrates pain management clinical pharmacists and an addictions counselor into primary care practices to manage opioid use and provide monitoring, screening and education services.

To help address future health issues, The Pepsi Gift also includes funds that can be allocated to meet new needs as they arise.

“We are extremely grateful for Pepsi’s flexibility, foresight and generosity,” Solomons said in the statement, “and their impact on our patients and the health of our community as a whole.”

The Saratoga Hospital Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Saratoga Hospital, a member of the Albany Med Health System. The foundation secures, manages and distributes charitable donations exclusively to support the mission of Saratoga Hospital. To date, the foundation has raised more than $70 million for Saratoga Hospital programs and facilities, all of which benefit Saratoga area residents. More information about the foundation is available online at www.SaratogaHospitalFoundation.org.