Packard Children's donates to counties
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 needy uninsured children. This is the third straight year that Packard Children's has donated to the programs.
County administrators appreciated the gift, as many kids lack coverage. "It's wonderful," said Leona Butler, CEO of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan. "We are working very hard to get statewide 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."