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Progressive Pediatrics is a blog written by Dr. Marc Gorelick.

Your donations make a huge difference at Children’s Minnesota. Here are three concrete ways they help kids.

If you’re a Minnesotan, congratulations. You live in one of the most generous states in the country. When it comes to charitable giving, Minnesota has a long tradition of helping others. We certainly feel that at Children’s Minnesota. Our generous community has stood with us for 100 years.

When you give to Children’s Minnesota, 100% of your donation goes to helping kids and their families. But what exactly does that mean? Here are three tangible ways your support makes a difference. You help us:

1. Deliver the highest quality care

Children’s Minnesota is a nonprofit, award-winning health system. We are regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children’s hospital. We have the most pediatric specialists in the most disciplines in the state. We are the first and only hospital system in Minnesota to be verified as a Level I Children’s Minnesota Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons. We are a Magnet® hospital, the gold standard for excellence in nursing care, a status achieved by fewer than 10% of U.S. hospitals.

I could go on. The point is we provide excellent, cutting edge, compassionate care to more than 160,000 kids every year. Donor support makes it possible.

2. Care for all kids

We also help every child who comes to us, thanks to our donors. Here’s how it works. In Minnesota, we are fortunate to have a Medicaid program that covers nearly all children who don’t have private health insurance. Almost half of all children we care for have Medicaid coverage.

But Medicaid reimburses us for only 70% of what it costs us to provide care. That means we need to make up the rest. In 2024, this added up to almost $180 million a year in uncompensated care. Thankfully, your donations help us cover the gap, so we can continue serving every child who needs care.

3. Bring the fun

Hospitals and doctors’ offices aren’t known for being entertaining places. But we do everything we can to make sure kids are not only comfortable when they’re with us but also get the chance to have some fun. They can play bingo and participate in other live shows on our very own in-house TV station, Star Studio. They can spend time with Riggs our medical dog. They can take part in music therapy. Or play in our Child Life Zone. Insurance doesn’t cover the cost of these offerings, but your donations do.

A young person with Riggs, the Children's Minnesota medical dog.
A young person with our medical dog Riggs.

We should be proud Minnesota has a reputation for being so generous. I’m beyond grateful that our community has kept its commitment to kids for 100 years, building Children’s Minnesota into what it is today: one of the biggest and best independent pediatric health systems in the country. With your help, kids and families will be able to count on us for the next century, and beyond.

Learn more about how you can make a difference.

Headshot of Dr. Marc Gorelick, president and CEO of Children's Minnesota

Marc Gorelick, MD

President, chief executive officer

Marc Gorelick, MD, is the former president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Children’s Minnesota. He is deeply committed to advocacy issues that impact children’s health, sustainability and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Learn more about his book, “Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc’s Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis.” All proceeds from the book will be invested back into Children’s Minnesota gun violence prevention work. 

Follow me on LinkedIn.

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