Homeless and disadvantaged children are especially vulnerable to illness. They're more likely to suffer from acute and chronic illnesses such as asthma. Many do not receive vaccinations.

Yet millions of these children cannot get healthcare because there is no transportation, or because there aren't enough doctors, in disadvantaged communities. Sometimes there are language barriers. These problems all make it difficult for their families to keep hospital appointments.

The Children's Health Fund provides a Referral Management Initiative (RMI) to help children get the care they need whenever they are referred to a specialist.

The RMI reminds families about doctor appointments by phone and mail. It also provides door-to-door transport to clinics and can even provide translation services if necessary.

When the program began, one in twenty children who were referred to a specialist actually made it to the appointment; now—through the RMI—three out of four do.

GSK is the sole funder of the RMI and has awarded $8 million to date. The program is expanded from New York to Washington, DC, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and South Florida. CHF hopes to introduce similar initiatives nationwide.

Irwin Redlener, President of the Children's Health Fund, comments "The Children's Health Fund partnership with GSK has been responsible for positively transforming the lives of tens of thousands of medically underserved children in need of specialist care."