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Citing Sharp Rise in Children's Health Needs, Pediatric Hospital Leaders Launch New Fundraising Foundation, Together For Kids(TM)

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 09:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of children's hospitals across the country today announced the formation of a new nonprofit foundation, Together for Kids, which will raise funds nationally to help member hospitals cope with dramatic increases in the health needs of children.

At a press conference at the National Press Club, retired NFL star Jason Sehorn urged support for the new group on behalf of himself and his actress wife Angie Harmon. The couple, who have two children, serve as honorary co- chairs for the launch of Together for Kids.

"As parents, Angie and I know that nothing is more important than keeping our kids healthy and safe," said Sehorn. "As a country, we need to make an investment in the future of our children."

"America's children are facing increasing challenges to their health and well-being-challenges that include the growing numbers of uninsured kids, the steadily climbing statistics on childhood obesity and the staggering toll of preventable injuries," said Together for Kids Board Chair Crystal Hinson Miller of North Carolina Children's Hospital at the University of North Carolina. "Together for Kids has been formed to rally more resources to make America's kids healthier and safer."

Children's Health Problems Increasing, Funding Not Keeping Pace

Speaking at the event, Sehorn pointed to a host of troubling statistics that demonstrate the need to focus more resources on children's health. "Since the 1980s, the percentage of overweight children has jumped from six percent to 18 percent, the number of children with asthma has doubled, and the number of uninsured children has risen to more than 11 percent of all kids," noted Sehorn.

"While the needs are increasing, funding for children's hospitals is not keeping pace," Sehorn added. "With children of our own, Angie and I are concerned, and that's why we're so glad that Together for Kids has been created to support the critical work of children's hospitals in caring for seriously ill and injured kids, and to make a focused effort on the issues of childhood obesity and injury prevention."

Helping Children's Hospitals Help Kids

Together for Kids consists of 34 children's hospitals and hospital systems, representing 53 individual facilities serving children in 47 U.S. cities. The network includes major university teaching hospitals, pediatric departments within hospitals, and children's hospitals in communities of all sizes. The alliance also includes the 20 Shriners Hospitals for Children across the country that provide specialty medical care to children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, all at no charge.

Together for Kids, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity, will raise funds through corporate sponsorship, events, grants and other forms of philanthropy, distributing the funds to member hospitals to address the most urgent children's health needs in their communities. In April 2008, Together for Kids will launch its first annual national fundraising campaign, Come Out to Play!- a month-long series of events around the country to raise funds for hospitalized children and to encourage kids and families to take part in active play that's healthy and safe.

A variety of other nonprofit organizations focused on children have stepped forward to support the launch of Together for Kids. Supporting partners include the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ), the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Child Life Council, Parents' Action for Children, Docs for Tots, the Emergency Nurses Association, the Children's Organ Transplant Association and the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses Division of the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses.

Targeting Childhood Obesity, Injury Prevention

Pediatric specialists from the Together for Kids hospitals who make up its Physicians Advisory Committee have prioritized the issues of childhood obesity and injury prevention as critical challenges where the member hospitals will work together to make a real difference. To address childhood obesity, Together for Kids will collaborate with NICHQ to seek grant funding to create a unique national pediatric database-the Pediatric Obesity Outcomes Link (POOL)-focused on measuring and improving outcomes in child and adolescent obesity prevention programs.

"While the problem of childhood obesity is well-recognized, there is a lack of solid, long-term scientific data on outcomes," noted John Noseworthy, MD, FACS, of the Nemours Alfred I. Dupont Hospital for Children, who along with Jamie Jeffrey, MD, FAAP, of Charleston Area Medical Center Women & Children's Hospital announced the obesity initiative on behalf of the Physicians Advisory Committee.

Charles J. Homer, MD, MPH, FAAP, chief executive officer of NICHQ, said the collaboration between NICHQ and Together for Kids can make a significant contribution to the fight against childhood obesity. "Bringing the knowledge from the Together for Kids POOL database-which will enable member hospitals to identify best practices-into NICHQ's national Childhood Obesity Action Network will make a real difference in fighting this epidemic. We're excited about collaborating with this network of hospitals to advance the quality of care for childhood obesity."

About Together for Kids

Together for Kids (http://www.togetherforkids.org/) is a national alliance of children's hospitals and other hospitals serving children, dedicated to building a healthier future for America's kids. The organization provides an urgently needed national fundraising mechanism for its member hospitals, helping them care for seriously ill children and tackle the toughest health issues facing all kids, with a focus on childhood obesity and injury prevention.

Together for Kids

CONTACT: Laura Mulhern, +1-717-991-8509,laura.mulhern@hillandknowlton.com, Salma Bahramy, +1-917-543-7211salma.bahramy@hillandknowlton.com, both of Together for Kids

Web site: http://www.togetherforkids.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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