Delivering care to every child

When a child is sick or injured, their parents seek out the best care available. Regardless of what their bank account looks like or what is on their insurance card, they simply, desperately just want to help their child. That is what we want, too. It is the Promise that we made to our communities over 100 years ago: to improve the health of every child.

Because we serve such diverse communities, the reality is that every child who walks through our doors comes with a unique set of circumstances. Accommodating these circumstances requires unique funding, made possible by the generosity of our donors.

Uncompensated care

Donations to uncompensated care provide funds that allow us to bring high-quality health care to the communities, families and children who need it. This funding also helps to make up Medicaid shortfalls and reconcile unpaid debts. It is what allows doctors to focus solely on the patient, and to be able to say yes without concern for finances.

Greatest need

Donations to Cook Children’s Greatest Need Fund provide resources for programs and efforts that serve our communities, like our neighborhood clinics, The 

Center for Children’s Health, led by Cook Children’s and various others. 

Greatest need donations also help reimburse departments like Behavioral Health and Rehabilitation Services that are ultimately a financial loss for the system. Those services, however, are essential to the community, which is why we use support from donors to keep them operating and serving patients. 

Case Management 

Gifts to Case Management provide social workers and case managers the ability to address the individual needs of our patient families. They allow us to provide family-centered care that sometimes extends beyond the walls of the medical center. Thanks to donors, we can offer gas vouchers to families in need and remove a financial obstacle that may keep patients from receiving care. And when we can hand parents a meal card for our food court, it can be the difference in whether or not they eat that day. 

It doesn’t matter whether the parents are writing a check, filing an insurance claim or walking into our emergency department without financial resources. Families continue to rely on us for their child’s care and we will always need the generous support of donors like you, who give so graciously to help others.

“Thank you for helping me. I didn’t think I could ask. I can’t tell you how much this means. I can’t believe I am crying over a gas tank being full, but I didn’t know what to do.” 

– A patient’s mom who received support through Cook Children’s Case Management