Wellness, revolutionized. - Children's Hospital Central California

Community Benefits.
The Community Benefits program at Children’s Hospital Central California
contributed to programs and services designed to meet the needs of Central
Valley children and families.
In keeping with its Mission, Children’s Hospital accepts all patients,
regardless of their ability to pay. As part of that commitment, the Hospital
provided $13 million in charity care to patients who met certain criteria
under the Hospital’s charity care policy. In order to assist families with
ongoing care needs, Children’s Hospital requires patient families to apply for
appropriate government funding in conjunction with applying for financial
assistance (charity care). As a result, many families qualify for government
programs and do not ultimately require charity care.
Given the large number of Medi-Cal patients treated at the Hospital and
the historically low Medi-Cal reimbursement we receive for providing those
services, the Hospital also absorbs a significant amount of uncompensated
care annually. Uncompensated care represents the difference between what
we get paid for providing services, and the cost of providing those services.
We partner with a variety of community-based organizations to
help prevent or treat childhood illness in our region. For instance, Children’s
Hospital founded the Childhood Obesity Prevention Task Force, a
consortium of public and private agencies in Fresno and Madera counties
The Guilds Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment
Center helps us reach outside
our walls to stop intentional
injury to children. The Center
is designed to use
education and partnerships
throughout the region to give
these kids a voice,
and to avoid injury rather
than treat it.
committed to reducing the incidence of childhood obesity through networking, coordination, and development
of best practices. Activities supported by the Task Force included the development of community consensus on
the indicators used to measure obesity and increased coordination among existing programs and services.
Another important service is The Guilds Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Center. In partnership with
a number of private and public agencies, the Center provided education, leadership, and direct services for children
who were victims of abuse and to parents and community based organizations to help prevent abuse. The
Program provides education and training to over 17,000 individuals annually in the areas of child maltreatment,
pediatric trauma, water safety, wheeled sports safety, childpassenger safety, the choking game, Munchausen by
Proxy syndrome, and shaken baby syndrome.
We also help treat and prevent childhood developmental disabilities through our work with Exceptional
Parents Unlimited, March of Dimes, and local First 5 agencies. And with advances in technology, more and more
children with complex medical conditions are able to attend school full time. To help ensure they continue to
receive medically appropriate care, Children’s Hospital provided education and training to school nurses on a
variety of clinical procedures, including care of gastrostomy tubes and tracheostomy tubes, and use of insulin
pumps.
The Hospital also provides assistance to our patients’ families so that they can effectively participate in their
child’s care. These services include transportation services, meal assistance and a family assistance fund that
helps families obtain items needed when they return home.
Central to California.
You’ve heard it before - Children’s Hospital provides services and resources from Modesto to Bakersfield, the
Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Direct patient care, outreach centers, medical and community
education are all a part of our important impact on the region. We are Central California’s pediatric experts,
and we are so intricately tied into children’s lives that it would be almost impossible to imagine the heart of
the state without us. As years go by, we continue to find new ways to help both children and those who care for
them, and we take our responsibilities very seriously. Central California is our home, and all of the people we
reach out to are our family.
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