Considering supporting a children's hospital? These factors may just convince you to take the leap.
If you think a children's hospital is only for special care and treatment, think again. They play a critical role in helping children aged 0 through 17 with primary and emergency care, and long-term treatment for injuries or diagnoses.
Only about half of all children who could be in a children's hospital actually are. Over 50% are being treated in adult facilities where they don't get the same treatment or resources. This is most often because of limited capacity in children's hospitals as many don't have the funds to expand.
Non-profit children's hospitals, in particular, rely on programs like The Crayon Initiative to provide a safe, comfortable stay for every patient.
Whether for-profit or not, every children's hospital can benefit from additional assistance and support, which will enable them to better serve their community.
While the biggest children's hospitals may be equipped to help more children, we often overlook smaller hospitals even though they can better serve the local area.
Some major hospitals, like St. Jude, promise that families never pay for "treatment, travel, housing, or food." However, most children's hospitals who offer charity care are severely under-funded and limited as to how much free care they can offer.
There's a widespread misconception that children's hospitals only help underprivileged children, but they actually play a critical role in helping children of all backgrounds.
Leading not-for-profit children's hospitals, such as St. Jude, say that over 82 cents out of every dollar goes straight to covering the cost of treatment and life-saving research.
When considering how donations may be spent, don't underestimate the cost of fundraising. This is a critical activity that more than pays for itself.
Whether for-profit or not-for-profit, all children's hospitals have to cover the cost of paying staff for their work and involvement.
Due to labor laws, child safety, hygiene, and a variety of other considerations, volunteers can't do much to ease the financial burden of staffing a children's hospital.
Of all facilities in the healthcare field, children's hospitals work hard to keep their young patients comfortable.
Nothing could compare to the compassionate individuals who staff children's hospitals across the country.
Whenever possible, children's hospitals try to pursue out-patient care to keep costs down for the hospital and patients' families.
Whether a child is facing a long-term illness or a short-term injury, restoring normalcy to their lives and enabling a quick, complete recovery is always the main focus.
Given the sheer breadth of illnesses and injuries children's hospitals see, they have to network with and employ a number of specialists.
In addition to medical care and guidance, families often rely on children's hospitals for emotional support and community connections.
Children's hospitals are very much dedicated to patient follow-ups and ongoing care, all of which takes time and a great deal of resources.
Financial donations can work wonders for a children's hospital, but there are many more ways to help, such as crayon donation.
If you can't make a donation directly to a children's hospital, The Crayon Initiative has plenty of ideas how you can help them without spending a penny. Running a crayon donation drive, for example, can help lessen children's anxiety while hospitalized and supply them with much-needed art supplies to restore normalcy to their lives. Meanwhile, you're helping to stop over a half million pounds of crayons from going to landfills each year. Learn more about The Crayon Initiative and how you can help.