Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare Awards Grant to Fragile Kids Foundation

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare announced today that it has awarded a $35,000 grant to Fragile Kids Foundation, Inc. (FKF), a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Ga. The grant award will launch the Fragile Kids Partner Program, an effort to better reach underserved, rural Georgia families caring for medically fragile children with a range of diagnoses, including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, mitochondrial disorder and other genetic/trauma disorders.  The goal of the program is to provide medical equipment and therapy tools to those children in Georgia who are not covered by insurance or any other healthcare option by collaborating with partners in the state that are established social, educational and therapy "homes."  

"For many medically fragile children, durable medical products represent the sort of crucial equipment needed for them to grow and thrive," said Kathy Bradley-Wells, President, Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare. "The Fragile Kids Partners Program strengthens FKF's capacity to serve children and families who experience healthcare disparities throughout Georgia."

"In a grassroots effort to reach out to rural caregivers of special-needs and chronically ill children, we learned that we share so many of the same families in our equipment grants program with other smaller organizations," said Carolyn Polakowski, Executive Director, Fragile Kids Foundation. "We discovered that these small, struggling community resource initiatives rarely have the appropriate medical equipment for children in attendance to share.  Joining forces with these smaller partners is a natural progression of our mission to fill the gaps for all children with a medically fragile diagnosis.  This grant from the Centene Foundation will empower us to launch the program statewide and deepen our network of community advocates and therapists."

About Fragile Kids Foundation, Inc.

The Fragile Kids Foundation, a twenty-year-old charitable organization serving the entire state of Georgia, provides medical equipment and durable medical goods to medically fragile children that are not covered by government (Medicaid) or private insurance programs.  76% of the children benefitting from the programs of FKF have incomes hovering at the poverty line; 50% of the children are cared for by single mothers and grandmothers.  The Foundation provides wheelchair lifts, specialized car seats, communication aids, toileting and bathing systems and other prescribed equipment for children that cannot be secured through other means.  Children from birth to 21 who reside in Georgia and have a medically fragile diagnosis - Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Muscular Dystrophy, Mitochondrial disorder and other genetic and traumatic disorders are eligible for support.  The Foundation provides equipment through the "Healthcare Grants" and "Loaned Equipment programs."  The new Partners Program sponsored by Centene Foundation will launch in 2010. For additional information, please visit www.fragilekids.org.

About The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare

The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare is a non-profit private foundation dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare in the United States. The Foundation serves as a resource to identify and support innovative approaches to improving and increasing the quality of and access to healthcare for low-income individuals and families. This is accomplished through an inspired philanthropic giving plan that seeks to promote efforts and activities that identify and address core causes of unequal access and treatment in healthcare.  For additional information, please visit www.centenefoundation.org.

SOURCE The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare