Credit Unions for Kids (CU4Kids), benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® (CMN Hospitals) in collaboration with America’s Credit Unions was adopted as a movement and the industry’s charity of choice around 1996.
Credit Union Supported
Credit unions with their chapters, leagues, associations and business partners throughout the U.S. donate to CU4Kids, benefiting local children’s hospitals through CMN Hospitals. Whether contributing through ATM contributions, events or making direct donations to CU4Kids, credit unions are raising funds to help children’s hospitals provide the best possible care for kids, providing financial, educational and emotional support for families fostering economic stability.
Serving Five Tennessee Hospitals
In the state of Tennessee, there are five CMN Hospitals:
- Children’s Hospital at Erlanger – Chattanooga
- East Tennessee Children’s Hospital – Knoxville
- Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital – Memphis
- Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt – Nashville
- Niswonger Children’s Network – Tri-Cities
In 2023, CMN Hospitals in Tennessee treated over 466,000 unique patients and another 464,000 in 2024. Each CMN Hospital offers highly trained specialists who are equipped to handle a wide array of issues. From comprehensive services for cancer, transplants, trauma, developmental disorders, and so much more, to award winning facilities and top-notch staff, CMN Hospitals in Tennessee are serving our credit union members.
Providing state of the art healthcare to the residents of Tennessee is a top priority for CMN Hospitals, and the funds that come from credit unions help bring new and necessary initiatives to life. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s at Vanderbilt has a capital campaign to build Tennessee’s first and only pediatric in-patient rehabilitation facility. CU4Kids funds are currently allocated for that project, so it would be accurate to say that CU4Kids funds at Monroe Carell will help build Tennessee’s first and only pediatric in-patient rehabilitation facility to care for patients with traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries.
Pediatric patients with a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury are currently required to go to an out of state rehabilitation facility, often requiring a stay of 3 months or longer. Extended stays can cause financial hardship not just because a parent may have to take off work, but because insurances often don’t cover treatment outside the state.
Vital Funding
Funds from credit unions across the state are used for things like education and research as well as lifesaving medical equipment. In the case of East Tennessee Children’s Hospitals, funds from partners like CU4Kids went towards a variety of equipment pieces used across various departments and specialties. All of them allowing our hospital to continue to provide state-of-the-art care for the thousands of patients and families we treat annually.
An example of equipment purchased by East Tennessee Children’s in 2023 was a Five Babylog VN500 Workstation. The Babylog VN500 Workstation is a neonatal ventilator. This is a complete, integrated ventilation system that is designed with the latest technology. It allows them to better care for and treat respiratory issues for our tiniest patients in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). They treat approximately 1,000 babies in our NICU each year, and each unit can cost upwards of $25,000.
Any parent who has had a baby in the NICU understands the struggle and hardship of watching their loved one suffer. For hospitals like Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, credit union funds helped provide new Angel Eye Camera Sytems, which provide parents of babies in the NICU live-streaming video and updates on their little one.
From child-life supplies, to equipment, to cameras that help parents feel more in touch with their newborns, funds raised by credit unions come into CMN Hospitals unrestricted, meaning 100% of dollars raised go to the hospital for anything they may need to provide the top-notch care they strive to give.
The tie between financial, physical and emotional well-being is something that drives CMN Hospitals every day, as well as the credit union industry.
Your credit union can get involved by supporting the Boots & Bowties fundraiser!
