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Support the Children's Heart Fund
The Children’s Heart Fund of St. Charles Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of Central Oregon children through prevention, education and family support programs.
Strong Hearts, Strong Teens: Each year, thousands of teens die when their heart suddenly stops beating without warning. But these kinds of cardiac events can be preventedthrough awareness, education and direct intervention. When heart conditions are detected early, appropriate measures can be taken to manage and treat them, significantly reducing the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
That’s where the Strong Hearts, Strong Teens screening program comes in. Hosted by St. Charles Cardiology and The Children’s Heart Center ofCentral Oregon, Strong Hearts, Strong Teens provides families with a comprehensive heart evaluation, including a blood pressure reading, electrocardiogram test, limited ECHO and CPR/AED training.
Supporting families with congenital heart disease: The fund provides financial support services, funds a case manager to assist with care coordination and access to community services, coordination of neurodevelopmental follow-up, and educational lectures for health care professionals for families with children who live with congenital heart disease.
A few examples of family support services:
- A three-month-old baby with heart failure was temporarily transferred to a Seattle Hospital for two months. The Children’s Heart Fund helped his Central Oregon family with travel expenses and temporary lodging so they could be near their heart warrior.
- The family of a toddler with an erratic heartbeat was making nearly weekly trips to Portland with multiple-day hospital stays, which eventually forced the mother to quit her job. The Children’s Heart Fund helped the family with gas and groceries so they could focus on helping their little one heal.
A teenager from Eastern Oregon, who is also a partial provider for his family, needed to travel to Bend for several heart-related appointments. The Children’s Heart Fund made transportation possible and helped close the financial gap for the family by providing grocery cards.
To donate: Send checks to St. Charles Foundation, 2500 NE Neff Rd, Bend, OR 97701 (mark checks for Children’s Heart Fund) or donate online and choose Children’s Heart Fund in the drop-down menu.