In March, the EKF helped a family from central Iowa. They were forced to travel to a larger children’s hospital in Milwaukee to seek more definitive care for their 2-year-old son who suffers with a life threatening congenital heart defect. Outpatient lodging options at the children’s hospital in Milwaukee were limited. The EKF helped negotiate a lower nightly rate at a nearby hotel and paid the expense for a four night stay. Their little boy was able to get the care he needed. This effort was coordinated by social workers at the Children’s Hospital of Iowa and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The family had no resources available to pay this expense and no program was in place to otherwise meet their need.
In April, the father of a one and a half year old boy, hospitalized more than four months with a complex cardiac condition, approached his son’s cardiac social worker about a utility bill he could not pay and feared would be disconnected. This overwhelmed father had taken much time off from work to be with his son who was unstable for most of the hospitalization. The EKF paid the bill, and the father was very relieved and thankful for the assistance.
In June, a young family was finally able to bring their 6 month old son home from the hospital. He had been born with a severe heart defect and required multiple surgeries to repair his ailing heart. After a very stressful start, this baby boy was able to go home on several prescription medications not covered or only marginally covered by the family’s insurance plan. The family was overwhelmed by the financial challenges brought by the baby’s heart condition, and the EKF has been able to help cover some of the pharmacy costs in the early going, as the family transitioned back home.
In July, we began helping another Iowa family with lodging and meal expenses as they spent the summer in Iowa City getting necessary care for their young son with a complex congenital heart defect. The child’s hospitalization is ongoing some 4 months now after admission. The family finances have been severely strained by the lengthy hospital stay, and EKF has been instrumental in helping the family make ends meet during this trying and difficult time.
Also in July, we were asked to provide financial assistance for a family in New York. Their 8 year old son had been hospitalized for 6 weeks at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York- Presbyterian, waiting for a heart transplant. The family didn’t have the financial resources they required to keep up with dislocation expenses at the hospital and the bills at home. EKF was able to help this family financially as they were in the thick of it all. The young boy received his transplant and was discharged from the hospital within a couple of weeks. He continues to do well today. His is a remarkable story, and we hope to tell the story in greater detail in the near future.
In August, a young Iowa family welcomed their new son into the world. They had no idea their little one would be born with a severe congenital heart defect. The baby was listed for a heart transplant before he was one week old, and miraculously received the transplant at just 16 days of age. The family was understandably overwhelmed by the circumstances of the situation. EKF was asked to help the family cope with the demands of their unforeseen circumstances which required both parents to be away from work for the duration of the hospitalization, some 6 weeks. The Foundation responded by making a single mortgage payment to their mortgage lender, on behalf of the family. The baby did extremely well post-transplant and was discharged in relatively short order. We’re told the baby continues to do well, today. The family was very grateful and credits this gesture by EKF as having enabled them to keep their heads above water, financially, during their crisis.
In October, the Foundation was asked to help a family from New York. Their 12 year old son has suffered from severe pulmonary hypertension for the last 7 years. The boy is on IV prostacyclin, a potent intravenous medication delivered into his bloodstream 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Since his diagnosis, he’s been hospitalized numerous times with infections and complications, and has now developed severe right-sided heart failure secondary to his pulmonary hypertension. He’s currently awaiting a lung transplant. EKF was approached to help with some dislocation expenses related to his recent hospitalization. This young man and his widowed mother have been through so much. EKF was happy to give them a break, and help them out financially during this past month.
In October, EKF helped another family who had traveled a great distance to seek treatment for both of their twin 3 year old sons. Both boys had been diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy. One of the boys had heart transplant a couple of months ago. The family remains in NY for follow up care, and won’t be returning home for several months yet. A few years back, the family had lost their first child suddenly, at age 2, to a previously undiagnosed heart condition. EKF provided assistance with some of their current housing and living expenses as they continue to wait for medical clearance to return home.
In November, EKF helped a single mom in Arizona whose 5 year old daughter required open heart surgery to repair a complex congenital heart defect. The child was hospitalized for only one week, but required constant observation and care for the first 4 weeks post-discharge. During this time, the child’s mother was not able to work to support the family and had no reserves to tap to get them through the post-operative period. EKF helped out by making a single rent payment which enabled this single mother of two to keep up with demands at home while her child recuperated after surgery.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Erika Kate Foundation is to help ease the emotional, spiritual, and financial burdens borne by parents of children with life threatening heart disease.
Our Corporate Status
The Erika Kate Foundation is a non-profit corporation organized under the Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act. The Foundation is recognized as a tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As of March 2010, EKF is further classified as a Private Operating Foundation.
IRS PF Determination Letter - March 2007
IRS POF Determination Letter - February 2010
Our Board of Directors
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Wendy Weiskircher is an attorney with Stanley, Lande, and Hunter, a Professional Corporation, in Davenport, Iowa. She attended Iowa State University and the University of Iowa College of Law. Wendy became familiar with the Erika Kate Foundation through work with Stanley, Lande & Hunter, and is honored to be a member of the board. Wendy resides in Davenport, where she enjoys running, playing basketball, traveling, and watching the Chicago Cubs. |
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Kelly Nissen, MSW, LISW, has been employed with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for the past 18 years, including the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), University of Iowa Children’s Hospital for the PICU, Cardiology Service and Heart Transplant Program, General Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology. She has a BA in Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Iowa. She currently works in the Continuity of Care Program at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.
Chad Dillavou is a lifelong friend of the Maynard family. Chad’s passion for the foundation is rooted in its core values: immediate assistance for families in immediate need. With a BA in Political Economy and Commerce from Monmouth College, he utilizes his diverse background to develop and promote proprietary Sales Force Automation technologies for Rite-Hite Corporation’s global sales force.
Dana Frye is the Executive Vice President and Senior Lending Officer at Country Bank in Aledo, Illinois. Dana was one of the founding members of the Country Bank back in 2000. He’s also an accomplished real estate developer in the Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa region. He is a visionary thinker with a gift for finance and business administration. Dana is also Erika’s Great uncle.
Traci Maynard is the loving mother of Erika and Erika’s siblings, Emma, Evan, and Ella. She is a homemaker who loves God and works tirelessly to provide a warm and stable home environment for her family. Traci has the spiritual gift of encouragement and is passionate about helping others deepen their faith in and understanding of God when in the midst of brokenness. Traci holds a degree in elementary education from Northern Illinois University.
Rich Maynard is Erika’s beloved dad. He has worked as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) for the past 10 years. He is currently a partner in a private practice anesthesia group based in Muscatine, Iowa. His educational background includes a Masters of Science from the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia, near Nashville, Tennessee, and also a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Iowa.
Our Executive Director
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Maegan Gorham has worked at Palmer College of Chiropractic as Operations Manager & Donor Strategist for six years. She has received her MBA Post-Graduate Certificate in Not-For-Profit Management from St. Ambrose University and is currently working towards a Master’s degree. Maegan and her husband, Nathan, have a three year old daughter, Nessa, who was born with a congenital heart disease. Nessa’s experiences encouraged Maegan down the not-for-profit path and led her to EKF.
In April of 2005, our daughter Erika Kate, then three and a half years old, was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy and secondary pulmonary hypertension, a severe form of heart and lung disease. After an extensive work-up at a nearby university medical center, we were told that Erika’s condition was very serious and that she would soon need a heart transplant. We were devastated. To make matters worse, we learned that because of the advanced state of Erika’s heart disease, her lungs had been damaged beyond the point at which she could qualify for a heart transplant. We were told that a new (donor) heart was sure to fail in the presence of Erika’s co-existing lung disease. Her options were limited, her prognosis was poor, and the doctors suggested she may have just a couple more years to live. We were given four options in selecting her course of treatment: Read more
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Most parents-to-be look forward to a 20 week ultrasound as the first chance to get a glimpse of their little baby growing perfectly at the halfway mark of pregnancy. For John and Danielle Meyer of Lake Villa, Illinois, this mid-second trimester ultrasound heralded the coming of their first child, a daughter, who would be born with an unbalanced right ventricle (the dreaded HLHS -hypoplastic left heart syndrome) and require aggressive medical intervention upon birth.
In the remaining weeks of the pregnancy, the Meyer family did their research and by the time baby Giselle Adoline, was born at Evanston Northwestern Hospital on April 22, 2008 at 6 lbs. 3 oz and 19.25 inches, they knew she would need to undergo a series of three surgeries. Read more
