$5 million endowment will ensure ‘next generation promise’ with children’s health center

Valley Children’s Healthcare announced on Monday a $5 million endowment to help improve the health of area children outside of the hospital.

The endowment establishes the Guilds Center for Community Health, “a first of its kind in the Central Valley,” linking “clinical care, community partners and the healthcare network’s current community health initiatives,” according to a news release from Valley Children’s.

“We know that clinical care only accounts for 20% of the factors that impact a child’s health and the remaining 80% is influenced by a wide range of factors including where they live, what they eat, the quality of their housing and the safety of their neighborhoods,” says Lynne Ashbeck, Valley Children’s senior vice president of community engagement and population wellness.

“Our ability to influence some of those challenges in the 80% will help to give kids their best chance to simply be kids and to avoid the longer-term health consequences that follow.”

So, the center will work on keeping children well in their own environment, says Dr. Carmela Sosa, the center’s medical director. It will use health data from across the 12-county service region and work closely with community organizations, school districts, behavioral and public health agencies and others.

“The Center will continue to expand our local partnerships to align our work and commitment to improving the health of our children in the most impactful, transformative and sustainable ways,” Sosa says.

Already, the center’s initial pilot programs have screened 1,400 children for food insecurities in Merced, provided fresh fruit to more than 3,000 children through a partnership with Vallarta Supermarket and expanded “George’s Pass,” which helps children with autism spectrum disorder and sensory issues enjoy Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

The center will allow Valley Children’s to expand on the community health and education initiatives it has been doing for decades, says president and CEO Todd Suntrapak.

“The Guilds of Valley Children’s Healthcare have been a powerful force behind many of our organization’s boldest initiatives. Their support of this Center and its mission to transform the health and wellbeing of children where they live, learn and play is perhaps as bold as that vision of our five founding mothers to build a hospital just for kids more than 70 years ago.”