Samsung and the Children’s Health Fund Announce a Partnership to Expand Access to Quality Healthcare for Children Across the United States at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
Two Year, $2 Million Grant, in Collaboration with Faculty at Columbia University, to Improve Pediatric Care through the Samsung Innovation Center at the Children’s Health Fund
New York, NY, September 25, 2014 /3BL Media/ – Samsung, the Children’s Health Fund (CHF) and faculty members from Columbia University announced this week a two year partnership to develop the Samsung Innovation Center at the Children’s Health Fund, dedicated to advancing access to, and quality of, healthcare for medically underserved children across the United States. The collaboration will remove barriers to care, develop pilot programs and improve communications among providers, specialists, care centers and parents through telehealth and other strategies.
“An estimated 60 million Americans live in areas where there is less than one doctor for every 3,500 people, and healthcare access continues to be a barrier for the 20 percent of America’s children who live in poverty,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, the president and co-founder of Children’s Health Fund. “While technology has already helped revolutionize the healthcare industry at large, there is still a long way to go. However, I am confident that the Samsung Innovation Center at the Children’s Health Fund will help chart a new path forward in demonstrating how technology can make quality health care available to many underserved children throughout the U.S.”
The Center will be an innovation hub for reducing medical care disparities and exploring the bounds of pediatric support in the United States. This partnership between Samsung, the Children’s Health Fund and faculty members at Columbia University will set out to envision new approaches for mobile-based care delivery, prototype new technology applications in medical settings and disseminate solutions through bi-annual white papers, peer-reviewed articles, online trainings and government briefings. Samsung’s state-of-the-art technology will also be deployed in more than 40 CHF mobile clinics nationwide that will offer a range of services from real-time access to immunization registries, to virtual primary care and specialty visits.
“At Samsung, we have been helping children across the United States lead healthier lives for more than a decade by supporting deserving charities, hospitals and schools,” said Dr. David Steel, executive vice president at Samsung Electronics North America. “By collaborating with Children’s Health Fund and faculty members at Columbia University, we hope to improve the lives of children by reducing barriers to care and enhancing pediatric support in underserved communities.”
This groundbreaking collaboration was announced at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York, where world leaders rethink the challenges of today to prepare for the future of tomorrow.
The Center will open later this fall at CHF’s New York City office, and the first white paper from the Center – on how mobile medicine improves access to healthcare for disadvantaged children – will be released in the first quarter of 2015.
The partnership is part of Samsung’s Hope for Children initiative which supports children across the country to live healthier lives.
About Samsung Electronics North America
Samsung Electronics North America (NAHQ), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is an arm of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American brand management including Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC and Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, Samsung is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com. You can also Fan Samsung on www.facebook.com/SamsungUSA or follow Samsung via Twitter @SamsungTweets.
About the Children’s Health Fund
Founded in 1987 by singer/songwriter Paul Simon and pediatrician/advocate Irwin Redlener, M.D., Children’s Health Fund is the nation’s leading pediatric provider of mobile-based health care for homeless and low-income children and their families. Children’s Health Fund’s mission is to bring health care directly to those in need through the development and support of innovative medical programs, response to public health crises, and the promotion of guaranteed access to health care for all children. Karen Redlener designed the Fund’s first mobile clinic, and Children’s Health Fund has since deployed 50 mobile clinics, including dental and mental health vehicles, to serve hundreds of locations across the country. Over the past 26 years, the organization has provided over three million health care visits for disadvantaged children, often in places where doctors, dentists and other health care providers are in short supply. For more information about Children’s Health Fund, visit www.childrenshealthfund.org.
About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 180 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 2,900 commitments, which are already improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over 180 countries.
CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at www.facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
Media Contacts:
Danielle Meister Cohen
Samsung Electronics North America
d2.cohen@sea.samsung.com
(201) 373-7554
Children’s Health Fund
Colby Kelly
ckelly@chfund.org
(212) 535-9400 x277
