Contact: Heather Woolwine
843.792.7669
Pat Votava, MFCP
843.297.3910 (June 12-14)
June 9, 2006
Contact: CHARLESTON - MUSC's Children's Hospital has made such a dramatic impact on the life of 16-year-old Nikki, that she is traveling to Washington, D.C. June 13 and 14 to share her story with South Carolina Congressman Henry Brown and other members of Congress.
For the second year in a row, the National Association of Children's Hospitals (NACH) Family Advocacy Day is bringing in dozens of families from across the country to speak about the children's hospitals and programs that have served them so well. Thirty families from 17 different states will be at this year's conference.
"The Children's Hospital takes care of me in all kinds of ways. When my leg hurts, they give me something to put on it, they teach me to walk and they take X-rays. They help me with my reading and how to ask questions. They help me with the way I talk and how to get the words out correctly,"
Nikki said. "I'm getting more mature. Everybody at the Children's Hospital is helping me become independent. They are helping me manage money so I can have my own bank account. They make me feel special. I like everything about the Children's ProgramÖthe way people treat meÖall the fun things and exercises that I do."
Nikki has been coming to the MUSC Children's Hospital patient since birth. There she receives occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, educational support and medical care.
"Part of our goal for this year's Family Advocacy Day is to educate Congress on the negative affect that cutting federal Medicaid funding and weakening Medicaid's guarantee of medically necessary care for children could have on the ability of children's hospitals to care for all children," said Lawrence A. McAndrews, president and CEO of N.A.C.H. "Clearly, patients and their families compellingly illustrate the role children's hospitals play in communities nationwide."
"There's no better way for Congressman Brown and Congress to understand the value of children's hospitals than to hear from patients themselves," said Pat Votava, MFCP manager. "We're proud to have Nikki represent the MUSC Children's Hospital in Washington. It is our hope that Nikki's story will leave them with a new or renewed appreciation for MUSC and children's hospitals across the country, and make us a priority on their agenda."
There are more than 200 children's hospitals nationwide providing specialized care to children in all parts of the United States. Medicaid is the single largest payer of care by children's hospitals, averaging 50 percent of hospital revenue.
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