$20,000 Granted to Maryville for Children’s Healthcare Center

To help ease the medical and financial burden of Illinoisans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryville Academy has been awarded a $20,000 grant as part of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois’ $1.5 million COVID-19 Community Collaboration Fund.

“The grant will be used to support the Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center. The money will specifically pay for nursing staff salaries,” Helene Pochopien, Director of Nursing said. “This helps us with the extra costs we’ve incurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

About the Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center

The Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center targets the necessity in Maryville for a pediatric primary health care center for medically fragile children. The healthcare center supplies transitional hospital-to-home medical services for children with complicated medical conditions. The center also provides training to parents on the specific care their child will need once home.

The Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center is open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. The compassionate nursing staff provides continuous care to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of the children entrusted to their care.

The healthcare center is only one of only two transitional care units in Illinois. Transitional care units are there to help newborn babies, infants, children, and young adults up to 21 years old who are medically fragile or wholly dependent on medical devices such as a feeding pump. When some of these young people are discharged from a hospital, some don’t have parents or a home that can care for them.

The Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center has been caring for needy children for more than 10 years. The current healthcare facility is an offshoot of a 135-year-old Catholic charity that began as an orphanage for orphaned and homeless boys after the Great Fire of Chicago. Throughout its long history, Maryville has preserved its unfaltering commitment to helping children, providing them with a safe place and compassionate care. In the end, the goal is to empower children to reach their highest potential.

Today, Maryville has programs in seven places around the Chicago metropolitan area. The Maryville programs include health care programs, family support services, mental and behavioral health services, residential care, educational and youth development programs, and community outreach.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Step in to Help

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois has launched a multi-faceted response to help non-profit organizations, first-responders, and residents across the state impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes innovative, rapid response funding grants.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois chose 75 organizations around Illinois whose missions are centered on access to care, as well as hunger and shelter. Each received a $20,000 grant to help address the current COVID-19 crisis.

“The overwhelming response to the COVID-19 crisis has shown the strength of our community. Both organizations and individuals across the Chicago area have come together for our neighbors in this unprecedented time,” observed Sean Garrett, president, and CEO of United Way of Metro Chicago. “We’re grateful to work with key partners such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Community Trust, who are dedicated to providing Chicagoans access to the resources they need daily.”

“We understand COVID-19 is stressing the resources that let local organizations provide a safety net for those most in need,” commented Steve Hamman, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “We will continue to ensure our members have access to the care and coverage they require, and the grants permit us to broaden our influence, making a difference in the lives of many.”

To directly support front line healthcare workers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois also donated 150,000 KN95 masks. The masks were given to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to distribute to healthcare providers.