Giving care, giving hope

Our neighborhood health centers serve about 50,000 children every year

Special fund helps provide for families’ immediate needs

Bringing a sick child for a doctor’s visit can be overwhelming. But for families who can’t afford the over-the-counter medication or a humidifier that the doctor is recommending, the visit can be even more stressful, if not outright defeating.

This is often the case for the families we see in our seven neighborhood health centers. Ninety percent of the patients we serve in these centers are insured by Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), which means they come from financially disadvantaged households.

Four years ago, a Neighborhood Clinics Patient and Family Support Services team was created to better serve this patient population. And while they have steadily added family advocates and social workers to meet the growing needs of these families, one critical piece that has been missing is funding for immediate needs.

The Neighborhood Needs Fund was created to provide families with specific, basic needs for their children. It allows the staff to briefly meet with the family during their clinic visit and provide resources, so they can immediately take care of their child.

With these funds, we can provide families with gift cards, so they can feel empowered to purchase items their child needs. And while it would be logistically impossible to keep larger items like car seats and portable cribs on hand at all of the clinics, the funds allow our staff to purchase and ship these items to the clinic for the family to pick up.

Last year, this team applied for and received a grant from the Blue Peaks Giving Circle at Cook Children’s, an annual membership group with a focus on improving the health of children in our communities through collaborative giving. The grant helped hundreds of families get the items they needed when they needed them. But these families’ needs continue to grow. Our donors’ generosity helps ensure that this support continues and that these children are connected to the care they need and deserve.

When we are able to say ‘yes’ to a family at the time of their visit to meet a need, we make a connection with them that extends beyond just that visit and really establishes an ongoing relationship of supportive care.” – Kelly Rand, manager for Patient and Family Support Services, Cook Children’s Neighborhood Health Centers

If you are interested in joining the Blue Peaks giving Circle, click here to learn more.