A $50,000 grant from the Honda USA Foundation is helping City of Hope’s Academic Advocacy Program boost the academic success of young patients during and after cancer treatment.
For example, City of Hope® treated a 15-year-old who had been in her school’s gifted program before she needed chemotherapy. Her parents had trouble finding the right school district staff to answer questions about Keira’s plan for schooling during her recovery. After City of Hope staff assisted them, the parents wrote to say, “It felt like we were going in circles. We especially appreciate you taking the time to participate in our call with the school district because we believe it helped push the process forward.”
Bobbie Trittschuh, Executive Director, Honda USA Foundation, says, “Through our Mobility Pillar, we strive to remove barriers and expand access for youth with disabilities and/or critical illnesses. We are pleased to partner with the City of Hope in this endeavor to bring critically ill youth a sense of normalcy during their recovery as they work to stay on task with their academics until they are able to return to school.”
The Honda USA Foundation grant has already enabled in-depth interventions for 60 students. Grant funding also assists with school supplies for patients, and the Academic Advocacy Program coordinator is working to create a learning center on our pediatric inpatient unit so patients can do their studies during treatment.
A Bank of America $25,000 grant to the Patient Assistance Fund is alleviating financial burdens that are a barrier to treatment for some patients. Costs of a cancer diagnosis go well beyond medical care. Financial uncertainty during cancer treatment can create anxiety or hopelessness that impacts a patient’s health.
“Access to care is an essential part of the important work City of Hope does, and Bank of America proudly continues to support this impactful nonprofit which provides services to help patients and families dealing with cancer diagnosis across Los Angeles,” says Raul A. Anaya, president, Bank of America Los Angeles.
City of Hope sees an increasing number of emergency requests from patients who struggle with the costs of transportation to medical appointments; food; lodging close to their ongoing cancer treatment; post-discharge medicine or medical equipment not covered by insurance; and rent or mortgage payments while treatment interrupts their earnings.
Assistance usually ranges between $500 to $800 per patient. The Patient Assistance Fund has supported more than 3,000 patients in the last three years.
One such patient came to City of Hope from outside California for treatment of his multiple myeloma. To extend his treatment with a clinical trial of an innovative therapy, he needed to stay longer, but his insurer’s determination on his lodging benefit took time. The Bank of America grant enabled City of Hope’s social worker to provide lodging to the patient immediately and continue his care.
Both the Honda USA Foundation and Bank of America gifts fall under the umbrella of supportive care – a suite of services City of Hope offers to patients to help them cope with the many burdens associated with a cancer diagnosis, beyond clinical treatment.
The services include care navigation, counseling, pain management, child life specialists, survivorship programs and integrative medicine like yoga and meditation for patients and their families. Research shows that these efforts can improve health outcomes and reduce hospital stays.