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UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital receives $48 million federal grant for pediatric pandemic network

It's the largest grant the hospital has ever received.

CLEVELAND — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video in the player above is from a previous story

We all hope to never see anything like the COVID-19 pandemic ever again, but in case we do, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital wants to be prepared. To help with their efforts, the federal government is providing unprecedented support.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded UH Rainbow a $48 million grant, the largest in the hospitals history. The money will go towards establishing a Regional Pediatric Pandemic Network, which will guide children's health centers in responding to global health crises.

Dr. Charles G. Macias, Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Chief Quality Officer at UH Rainbow, released the following statement:

"We began this work before the global pandemic, and 2020 proved how important it is for hospitals, health care infrastructures, government and private entities to work together to create a coordinated emergency response model. This grant is an amazing opportunity to grow a national model whose impact can inform all aspects of pediatric preparedness, from daily efforts to global health threats."

UH laid the groundwork for this project in 2019 Eastern Great Lakes Pediatric Consortium for Disaster Response, but while that partnership was limited to hospitals in Ohio and Michigan, the new network will span across the United States. Partnering facilities include:

  • University of California San Francisco-Benioff Children's Hospital
  • University of Louisville School of Medicine-Norton Children's Hospital 
  • University of Utah Health-Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital
  • Saint Louis University-Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital

The alliance comes at a crucial time, especially with the delta variant leading to an increase in coronavirus hospitalizations among kids. With five hospitals in different parts of the country, each location will be able to focus on specific areas of health care and apply them on a national scale.

"We are grateful for this transformative grant from HRSA to continue critical work for the safety and wellbeing of our children across our nation," Heidi Gartland, Chief Government & Community Relations Officer at UH, said. "We are so fortunate to have great elected officials who understand the importance of these funds."

According to UH, Northeast Ohio U.S. Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, Dave Joyce, Marcy Kaptur, and Tim Ryan helped spearhead the effort to secure the funds for the network. The four members of Congress were specifically thanked for their work.

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