Mending Children in the US - Hometown Mission 2022
The Californer/10201489

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. - Californer -- Mending Kids' one-day outpatient Hometown Mission 2022 successfully changed the lives of six children residing in Los Angeles County and throughout California. For the past nine years, the zero-cost medical mission has benefited recipients who cannot afford medical coverage due to documentation status, a family's loss of income, the inability to pay costly deductibles, and/or have been denied access to care for conditions deemed as "non-life-threatening" or "cosmetic" by health insurance providers.

Based on the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau's annual Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, an estimated 4.3 million children were uninsured. Underserved communities are largely overlooked, leaving families stuck with the financial burden of paying costly medical bills.

The six Hometown Mission recipients received long-awaited surgical procedures. Among them, was an 18-year-old who was suffering for the past 3 years from botched sinus surgery. The family appealed to their insurance carrier but was denied and received no support. The patient's mother learned about the Hometown Mission via an Instagram post from Mending Kids board member, Dorothy Lucey.

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Another recipient, returned for her second and final surgery to remove a very visible birthmark.

Since its launch in 2013, Mending Kids' Hometown Mission has helped over 140 children receive the care they need. The organization is committed to addressing the expanding health disparity gap among disproportionately inequitable populations by removing obstacles and providing the necessary services these children deserve and need to correct highly stigmatized physical and congenital anomalies with the goal of restoring self-esteem and mitigating bullying.

Mending Kids' volunteer team of board-certified surgeons, anesthesiologists, recovery nurses and other medical professionals donated their time and skills to provide quality surgical care to children in need of ear, nose and throat (ENT), orthopedic, urology, strabismus, plastic and reconstructive, and general pediatric surgeries.

Another recipient needing special medical attention was an 11-year-old Syrian girl who came to the U.S. four years ago suffering from catastrophic burns. Two Mending Kids surgeons simultaneously operated on her (treating different areas of her body) to help advance her reconstructive repairs, which will be many.

These surgeries are critical to the patients' well-being. Mending Kids wants to ensure that no deserving child is turned away and give them an equal opportunity to medical care so they can achieve a sense of normalcy, return home healthy and face the future with confidence.

Special thanks to our sponsors, The Open Hearts Foundation, co-founded by actress and philanthropist, Jane Seymour, for their generosity, The Helen & Jose Colton Foundation and the La Cañada Junior Women's Club for making this mission possible.

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"This mission is for the kids who fall through the cracks and for giving them access to the care that they need to restore their dignity, ability to learn properly, and to help them get back on track to fulfilling their potential." Isabelle Fox, Executive Director

For parents or guardians who need to refer a child, or medical professionals interested in volunteer opportunities please call: 1-800-993-5680 or email Hometown@mendingkids.org

Who is Mending Kids? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @mendingkids.



About Mending Kids

Mending Kids is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization that provides free life-saving critical surgical care to children in the United States and around the world from over 68 countries by deploying volunteer medical teams and educating communities to become medically self-sustaining. Since 2005, Mending Kids has mended over 4,700 children. Our surgical teams donate their time and services to train and perform procedures that range from interventional cardiology, open-heart, neuro, otolaryngology, plastic, orthopedic or general surgeries.

Please contact Adrienne Johnson to schedule an interview with Dorothy Lucey, Mending Kids board member, Isabelle Fox, Executive Director of Mending Kids, or Cristina Farrut, Director Mission Services, for interviews in Spanish.