Every hour of every day, 365 days a year a child and their family leave the North to receive care elsewhere.
Every year, approximately 3,900 children from across the northeast make 10,000 trips to Toronto, Ottawa, and London just to receive the specialized care they need. That is an increase of over 20% in the past five years says a news release from the NEO Kids Foundation in Sudbury.
NEO Kids Foundation (NKF) is introducing an Annual Giving campaign to help build long-term sustainability and awareness for NEO Kids.
Children in the northeast face greater rates of disease and illness than the national average:
Obesity: Canadian average 21% ...Sudbury 29%
Autism: Canada 1 in 94 on spectrum …Sudbury 1 in 60 on spectrum
Cancer: Canada 150 per million …Sudbury 169.1 per million
Asthma: Canada 8.3% ...Sudbury 9.1%
Seizures: Canada .3% - .6% …Sudbury .55%
Allergies: Canada 22% ...Sudbury 26%
"With the help of our community we will bring vital pediatric services and innovation to our region, improving health care and keeping our children #closertohome. The time is right now to focus on our youngest citizens,” said Rick Bartolucci, Former MPP, Sudbury and current NKF Board Member.
The inaugural NKF Annual Giving campaign has a fundraising goal of $200,000.
