A lack of transportation contributes to more than 5,000 missed appointments at UPMC Children’s per year. For children with complex medical needs, these appointments can determine the trajectory of their lives.
Katie and Matt Diehl have established an endowed fund to address a key disparity in accessing health care for kids and families in our region: transportation.
The Diehl Family and Friends Endowed Fund for Transportation will directly support families by providing rideshare vouchers to and from medical appointments. The average round trip cost is $55.
The family has committed not only to donating, but also to raising funds to solve this disparity. Donations collected will help to elevate treatment and research, improve access to care, and address the most pressing needs of children and families.
Addressing Barriers to Health
Children and families cannot achieve their health, education, or economic goals if they are insecure in their fundamental needs to live. One of the most challenging obstacles in care for economically vulnerable families is transportation to and from medical appointments.
Patients from low-income households struggle with significant barriers to reliable transportation. This means they often have to make difficult decisions like choosing between grocery and utility costs or paying for the cost of transportation to the hospital.
Through the endowment, the Diehls hope to solve this problem.
A Personal Connection
As parents of UPMC Children’s patients and as owners of an automotive dealership, the Diehls recognize that transportation is fundamental to so many aspects of life.
“In our medical journey, we have been grateful that access to experts in health care is often just a short drive down the road to one of the country’s top recognized pediatric hospitals, UPMC Children’s,” say Katie and Matt.
“Despite the importance of transportation, these costs are not covered by medical insurance. Many families do not have access to public transportation or reliable alternatives.”
UPMC Children’s believes that access to care is fundamental to all the services the hospital provides. It doesn’t matter if it is the best hospital in the world if the children who most need it do not receive care.