TULSA, Okla. — New funding for the Children's Hospital at Saint Francis will go to helping families with kids who have cancer.
The Children's Hospital has been awarded a $100,000 grant for its work to end childhood cancer. This is crucial as the American Cancer Society says childhood cancer rates have been slightly rising for the past few decades putting more families under a financial burden.
Numbers locally show that:
- Over 300 kids are being treated for the same form of cancer at the Children's Hospital.
- 80% of those families either have no insurance or are on a Medicaid plan.
Dr. Greg Kirkpatrick with the Children's Hospital says families with a child being treated for cancer face difficulties that go beyond the treatment. He explains families quickly learn how many other parts of their life are affected.
“Our families face different struggles to make different ends meet and this has become even more extreme with rising gas, food, housing, and utility costs. That’s where this grant comes in," says Dr. Kirkpatrick.
The money which comes from the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Impact Grant will be used to create what the Children's Hospital is calling the P.J. Panda Emergency Fund.
It will provide emergency payments for patient families for unexpected expenses. The money could go towards housing, utilities, gas and food. This will allow families to focus on the health of their families.
To commemorate the new funding, current clinic patients left their mark in the form of a handprint on a Hyundai vehicle. It signifies every hand that is involved in the fight against childhood cancer.
Trending Stories:
- Woman found dead after fire breaks out at midtown Tulsa home
- DOWNLOAD the 2 News Oklahoma app for alerts
- OSU coach Mike Gundy nearly took Bucs job in 2012
- FOLLOW 2 News Oklahoma on Facebook
- Five largest Oklahoma tribes to endorse Hofmeister in gubernatorial race
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
