Packard Children's Community Gift Ensures Medical Care for 200 Uninsured Children; Contribution Marks Three Years of Hospital Support for Healthy Kids Programs.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- 2006 just got a little brighter for 200 Bay Area children, thanks to a nearly $200,000 gift made by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation and the San Mateo-based Peninsula Community Foundation. The money will be used to provide one year of health insurance coverage to 100 children in each of the two counties.

The foundations will use the money to enroll the children in their respective counties' Healthy Kids Programs, which provide medical coverage to uninsured children who are not eligible for Medi-Cal or other federal or state programs. The gift marks the third straight year that Packard Children's Hospital has donated to the two programs, and brings the hospital's total contribution to the programs to more than $600,000.

"Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is committed to helping the children in our community, whether it be by providing world-class medical care or by ensuring that as many children as possible have the health insurance they need," said hospital president and CEO Christopher G. Dawes. "As one of the top ten children's hospitals in the country, we realize that access to basic health care is as important as the most sophisticated medical technology in the day-to-day lives of many local children."

As in previous years, health plan administrators from both counties responded enthusiastically to the gift, pointing out that many children in their communities desperately need medical coverage.

"It's wonderful," says Leona Butler, CEO of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan. "We are working very hard to get state-wide coverage for children, but until that happens we need to keep funding the thousands of children in our county who need health insurance right now. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has been very generous in responding to that need."

"This contribution ensures that the children in our community will continue to receive comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage under the Healthy Kids program," agrees Marmi C. Bermudez, the Children's Health Initiative Project Coordinator for the San Mateo County Health Department. "With this generous gift, Lucile Packard's Children's Hospital has exemplified its commitment and dedication to improving the health status of our children."

About Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Ranked as one of the nation's top 10 pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with the Stanford School of Medicine, Packard Children's Hospital offers patients locally, regionally and nationally the full range of health-care programs and services from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit http://www.lpch.org.