Avera McKennan Joins Other Children’s Hospitals to Launch Together for Kids™

Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center is pleased to announce our membership in Together for Kids™, a new nonprofit foundation which will raise funds nationally to help member hospitals cope with dramatic increases in the health needs of children.

The foundation today announced its formation at a press conference in Washington, D.C.  Together for Kids consists of 34 children’s hospitals and hospital systems, representing 53 individual facilities serving children in 47 U.S. cities.

Funds raised for Together for Kids will be distributed to member hospitals to address the most urgent children’s health needs in their communities. In April 2008, Together for Kids will launch its first annual national fundraising campaign, Come Out to Play!—a  month-long series of events around the country to raise funds and to encourage kids and families to take part in active play that’s healthy and safe.

The organization’s Physicians Advisory Committee has identified childhood obesity and accident prevention as areas where member hospitals will work together. We look forward to collaborating with our Together for Kids colleagues on new initiatives that will build on our hospital’s existing programs targeting obesity and safety.

To learn more about Together for Kids, check out the organization’s Web site at www.togetherforkids.org. For more information on Avera McKennan’s involvement in this exciting new foundation and how you can get involved in fundraising opportunities, please contact Angie Baszler at the Avera McKennan Foundation at 322-8831.