As coronavirus has spread across the nation, our community has responded.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital was founded in 1892 when a group of citizens decided to help sick children. Ever since, we have cared for every child, for every reason. We were built by everyday people helping other people. While recent weeks have been unlike anything we have ever seen, you offered to lend a hand.
We have been humbled by the countless ways the community has offered to assist during this challenging time.
You wanted to help so we are launching The Joining Hands Fund: Helping Kids and Families Face Coronavirus. This fund allows each of us to join hands, pitch in, and help in whatever manner we can. Everyone has a role to play in guiding our community through this challenge. The Joining Hands Fund will harness the strengths of people helping other people.
When you contribute to The Joining Hands Fund, you help vital services such as the following:
Staff Support
Medical professionals are on the front lines of this pandemic. They can’t shelter in place. They come to work every day to care for children, even as they juggle childcare options for their own family. We are increasing services for staff wellness, stress management, and assistance when needed. Obviously, the need for personal protective equipment and other medical items has been well documented in the media and we face similar challenges.
Your support in this area will augment our Employee Catastrophic Relief Fund that helps our most important asset: our determined employees.
Research
We are one of the largest freestanding pediatric research institutions in the country. Our doctors are actively searching for vaccines, treatment plans, and prevention strategies to combat coronavirus.
Your support in this area will help researchers such as our world-renowned infectious disease experts who focus on pathogenesis and treatment of respiratory infections and the application of genomics strategies to better deal with infectious agents.
Telehealth
Scientific principles to slow the transmission of the coronavirus make it challenging for children to receive care for other conditions. We have greatly increased our delivery of telehealth services, ensuring that children continue to receive world class care for conditions like mental health and others without having to leave their home. All outpatient services and certain inpatient services are doing consultations via telehealth.
Your support will enable us to expand telehealth opportunities to more families and children. We delivered more than 600 telehealth visits in just a couple of days after the Governor of Ohio issued stay-at-home orders and the demand will increase exponentially.
Direct Services
Children are the most vulnerable in society to upheavals such as economic challenges. Housing, continuity of care, education, safety, and many more components of their lives are threatened during this difficult time. The Center for Family Safety and Healing and the Big Lots Behavioral Health Program all expect to see dramatic increases in need for their services.
Your support in this area will help us help families affected by the coronavirus and social upheaval.
The examples above demonstrate what Nationwide Children’s is doing to help with the coronavirus and its effects on children and families. But that doesn’t diminish the fact that we continue to provide the care so desperately needed before any of learned about “flattening the curve” and “community spread.” Pediatric cancer and birth defects don’t practice social distancing. Depression and autism don’t work remotely.
We continue to provide the very best outcomes for children with “everyday” serious medical conditions, in addition to ramping up to face the coronavirus.
It’s not business as usual for any of us right now. It’s not for you, it’s not for us, and it’s certainly not for our patients. But you wanted to help, as you always do. You are what makes us special as a community. With The Joining Hands Fund, we can all pitch in and help together to make a difference.
If you would like to mail a gift to the Joining Hands Fund, please write Joining Hands Fund in the memo portion and make check payable to Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation and send to:
Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation
P.O. Box 16810
Columbus, Ohio 43216-6810
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you would like to donate food items to staff, personal protective equipment, medical equipment, please contact Jillean Bastian, 614-355-5400, jillean.bastian@nationwidechildrens.org.