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Have you ever wondered what happens to foster children when they are admitted to the hospital? Child-welfare agencies across our region are understaffed, and their resources are stretched thin. These children, and others in different circumstances, are left in the care of the hospital system while they recover from illness and surgery. There are distractions available, but nothing brightens a child's mood like receiving a balloon from a friend.
The WVU Medicine Golisano Children's system serves children and families in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. In 2024, kids from Greene County, PA accounted for the third highest number of outpatient visits and the sixth highest number of inpatient visits to WVU Medicine Golisano Children's. Some of our county's own foster children have spent weeks recovering at this state-of-the-art facility.
Project Balloon was born from our wish to alleviate the fear and loneliness experienced by so many children who are admitted into local hospitals. It is a community collaboration among Growing Up Greene, WVU Medicine Golisano Children's, and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County's West Virginia subsidiary, First Greene Mortgage. Providers, staff, and the Child Life department can request an immediate gift for any child needing a quick pick-me-up from this dedicated funding at the hospital gift shop. Local families and churches donated the original seed money for this endeavor, and First Federal has promised an annual gift to refill the funding necessary to continue.
It should be no surprise that Greene County will be shouldering the extra weight and lighting the match that brightens our future. It is what we have always done, and it is our honor to carry that tradition forward.