What do you do when your child needs cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in Manhattan and your insurance carrier says, “Sorry, that’s out of network”? Or when your doctor tells you your newborn has such a rare bone disorder that several of her ribs are malformed or missing, and the only place in the country able to perform the surgery she needs is 1,500 miles away? How do you charge the airline tickets when your Visa card is maxed and medical bills are rocketing past $100,000?
Miracle Flights for Kids has the answers to these questions. It provides free air transportation for seriously ill children and families faced with this type of crisis. Some flights are provided by volunteer owners of private planes, while longer flights may be scheduled on commercial airlines. “These are scenarios facing so many families everyday”, said Debi Bedell, public information officer for the organization. “All too often, health insurance companies do not cover out-of-state transportation, causing great difficulty to families whose children need to receive care at specialized medical centers outside their local area. We are dedicated to providing transportation to these facilities, so the family can concentrate on getting the child well, instead of worrying about how they will get to treatment.” Miracle Flights for Kids believes all children have the right to access the best medical care, no matter where that treatment is located, and no matter how many times they need to go.
Founded in Southern Nevada, Miracle Flights for Kids just began its 21st year of dedicated community service. The nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization has coordinated over 44,000 flights, providing more than 21 million miles of free access to healthcare for sick children and families who could not afford the transportation for out-of-state medical treatment. Low-income families never pay a fee for any of its services. The organization has grown from a small network of private pilots into a nationwide effort with many resources. Miracle Flights has coordinated flights to locations throughout the United States, and has even flown children from Mexico, Canada, Egypt and the Philippines to U.S. hospitals for medical treatment.
It continues to receive more and more flight requests from worried local families each and every day, and has a desperate need to keep funding in pace with growth. “As more Nevada families rely on us, we in turn have to reach out to fellow caring community members to help us continue to meet the needs of these deserving children,” Bedell said. While it is a national service provider, Miracle Flights does take care to ensure that locally donated funds are escrowed for use to support only the needs of local families. Dollars donated in Nevada help families living in Nevada.
“We once relied entirely on our network of private pilots and aircraft owners, and we are still in need of their services, but more and more requests presented the need to travel distances beyond the capabilities of light aircraft. That, in turn, has forced us to purchase commercial airline tickets at great financial expense,” Bedell said. “The need is absolutely tremendous.”
Miracle Flights for Kids
2756 N. Green Valley Pkwy., Suite 115
Henderson, NV 89014-2120
(702) 261-0494 www.miracleflights.org
