Iowa City, IA - GreenState Credit Union announced the recent gift of $100,000 to support a crucial fund within the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. This money came at an ideal time when the fund had been dwindling due to additional burdens caused by COVID-19. This is noted as the largest gift to date for this specific account.

The Extenuating Circumstances Fund functions independently but falls under the Continuity of Care program at UISFCH. The Continuity of Care program is a family-centered service of the hospital, helping families with children who have special health care needs. Within the Continuity of Care program, the Extenuating Circumstances Fund can provide families with gas cards, hotel stays, meal cards, and even the occasional electricity bill at home.

Many of these families have lost their jobs or experienced pay cuts, thus putting patients in economic hardships. Visitor restrictions and other COVID-19 policies have also made hospital stays more difficult. According to John Werner, Pediatric Supervisor for Social Work at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, the Extenuating Circumstances Fund is, "the most important resource for patients and families." The Extenuating Circumstances Fund supports patients and families in critical financial situations, but unfortunately this fund is dwindling, thus making these dollars more difficult for patients and families to access.  

“Thank you to GreenState Credit Union for providing our patients and families with support during difficult times, made even more challenging with the pandemic,” says University of Iowa Center for Advancement President and CEO Lynette Marshall.

“In learning about this fund and the ways it supports patients and their families, we had no hesitation about what we needed to do. This gift allows GreenState to aid hundreds of families across the state and lets them to focus less on financials and more on what is important – the health of their family,” states Tara Wachendorf, Public Relations Director.    

GreenState Credit Union is Iowa’s largest financial institution and gave back $2.2 million to the local community in 2020.