Cook Children's Health Foundation

About Cook Children's Health Care System For 105 years, Cook Children's Health Care System has worked to fulfill its Promise to improve the well-being of every child in our care and our communities. As a not-for-profit, nationally-recognized and integrated pediatric health care organization based in Fort Worth, Texas, Cook Children's comprises 14 entities. They include a medical center, physician network, health plan, home health company, health foundation, a child study center, two surgery centers and more. Cook Children's reputation for excellence draws patients from near and far. Families travel from across Texas and the United States, as well as internationally, to receive life-saving pediatric care and benefit from the collaboration and vast resources the system offers. In addition to the medical center, a network of more than 60 primary, specialty and urgent care locations provide numerous access points to life-saving pediatric care that's family-centered and built on leading technology, collaboration and a best-in-class patient experience. Cook Children's Health Foundation Donations to Cook Children's Health Foundation allow us to care for our families when and how they need us. Sometimes that's by providing new technology or equipment, funding research trials, helping a family with prescription medication costs or by giving a parent a clean change of clothes during an unexpected stay. Our Health Foundation helps connect the dots between those who want to help and the needs of our patients. While many gifts fund a number of vital programs each year, two significant funding sources in 2022 offer examples of how the support we receive from our communities helps create the magical experiences that Cook Children's is known for. Funding Care Close to Home Cook Children's believes all children deserve access to health care, no matter their zip code. Seven community-based Neighborhood Clinics give families a home for primary medical care close to where they live, work and attend school. The free-standing pediatric clinics are located in low-income neighborhoods identified as having inadequate access to primary care for children. About 90% of Neighborhood Clinic patients are Medicaid beneficiaries. Neighborhood Clinics are staffed with doctors and other clinical support staff that provide at-risk children high-quality, comprehensive and culturally sensitive medical services from birth through their teen years, including well-child exams, vaccines, sick visits, nutrition, counseling, speech language intake services, and behavioral health evaluations. If a child has a chronic illness, the Neighborhood Clinic provides a medical home that will coordinate complex care among other Cook Children's providers. If not for the clinics, many of these families would turn to the emergency department (ED) for primary care at a cost much higher than a typical clinic visit. Neighborhood Clinics are helping kids all across Cook Children's service area lead healthier, more productive lives. In FY22, the Neighborhood Clinics conducted100,094 patient visits. Each year the clinics lose a combined $6.7 million due to the high number of Medicaid beneficiaries. Philanthropic funds through the Health Foundation help fill the financial gaps so that Cook Children's can deliver on its Promise to improve the well-being of every child regardless of their family's ability to pay. Thanks in part to a generous donation, children from birth through 16 years of age will have a medical home, which improves their access to primary and preventive care, increases the likelihood a child will see a pediatrician every 12 months, and ensures they receive the medical care needed to reduce their dependence on the ED as a source for primary care. Donor funding helps sustain Neighborhood Clinic services and gives all children the health care they deserve. Connected Care Thanks to a generous gift in 2022 from the Jane and John Justin Foundation, children diagnosed with disorders of the nervous system will enjoy an easier journey through the health care system. Disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nerves often require a child to visit a number of different specialists. Coordinating multiple appointments with multiple providers can be difficult and take lots of time, creating a barrier to treatment for some families. The new Jane and John Justin Institute for Mind Health at Cook Children's seeks to combine commonly overlapping specialties under one roof to provide easily accessible, well-coordinated and comprehensive care for children with nervous system disorders. The combination of specialties is about more than convenience. A central location and structure will foster increased communication and collaboration across departments. For patients, this translates to better care. The Justin Institute will be housed in the newly expanded Dodson Specialty Clinics building, and will connect nine specialties under one roof, including Neurology, Neuropsychology, Neurosurgery, Pain Management, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychology, Psychiatry, Developmental Pediatrics and Developmental Psychology. Although the Justin Institute's physical space is not complete, the process of combining services and departments is underway.