Maricopa Pediatric Foundation

 

Expanding Children's Healthcare Horizons

 

The Maricopa Pediatric Foundation is an independent 501(c) 3 not-for-profit foundation with a mission to improve the health of the children living in Maricopa County and throughout Arizona by focusing on the provision of health care to needy children, medical research, and medical education.

Special emphasis is placed on indigent children who are in need of primary medical care. Services include well and sick child exams, immunizations, screenings, dental exams and treatment, referrals, and education.

Since its inception, the Pediatric Foundation has been a benefactor to the pediatrics department of Maricopa Medical Center because the vast majority of its patients are among the most medically under-served children in Arizona.

 

Financial Support to the Foundation Accomplishes the Following:

 

Rx for Kids - This program pays for prescription for needy children. Approximately 70 percent of the medications are antibiotics needed for the treatment of infections while most of the other prescriptions are for children with asthma who needed inhalers or other medications. All of the donations to Rx for Kids go directly for the costs of medication.

Pediatric Medical Research - Funded programs include clinical studies, basic scientific research, and medical education that focus on children's health issues. The results of research funded by Maricopa Pediatric Foundation generally are made available to the public on a fair and equal basis. Interested applicants submit written proposals to the Pediatric Foundation, which are evaluated by the Foundation's Board of Directors based on the research topic, its applicability to the Foundation's mission, and the amount of funding requested. The number of projects supported each year depends on the number of applications received and the amount of funding available.

Pediatric Medical Education - Maricopa Pediatric Foundation sponsors speeches, lectures seminars and workshops related to pediatric health care. These educational events are intended primarily to benefit physicians, nurses and others who care for children. A lot of emphasis is paid to individuals who regularly interact with children, such as parents, teachers, police, social workers, and day care employees. The Foundation also subsidizes the attendance costs of nurses, physicians and support staff at continuing education conferences that are not sponsored by the Foundation. Funded researchers are encouraged to publish the results of their work.

Pediatric Patient Care - Funding is provided for the purchase of equipment, supplies and medications for the comfort and care of those pediatric patients at Maricopa Medical Center who are unable to pay. When there is need, the Foundation will purchase medical equipment for use at the medical center in order to better serve the Valley's indigent child population.

The Child Life Program - Maricopa Pediatric Foundation funds the majority of supplies for the Child Life Program at Maricopa Medical Center and the child life playroom. The playroom offers a reprieve for hospitalized children and is one mechanism through which the certified child life specialist can effectively work with the hospitalized children.

The Child Life Program works with children and teenagers to help prevent or decrease possible negative reactions to being hospitalized, helps the patients better understand what is happening to them, and why. The child life specialist looks at how children at different ages might react emotionally and developmentally to being in the hospital.

The Child Life Program offers a safe environment for the child to play, ask questions, and let out feelings or concerns. Click here for more information on Maricopa Medical Center's Child Life Program.

For more information on the Maricopa Pediatric Foundation or to donate to the Foundation, please call (602) 344-5404.

 

Maricopa Pediatric Foundation Board Members

 
  • J. Kipp Charlton, M.D. - President
    Director of Clinical Research
    Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Maricopa Integrated Health System
  • Suresh Lal, M.D. - Vice President
    Department of Pediatrics
    Maricopa Integrated Health System
  • Prabodh Hemmady, M.D. - Secretary/Treasurer
    Department of Pediatrics
    Maricopa Integrated Health System
  • Richard Easton, CPA - Treasurer

Last updated on May 3, 2010