Be a "Champ" for Children’s Health in Yakima

Part of our role in the community is to listen when people say a change in health care needs to happen. A few years ago this happened when local leaders, employees, and community members approached us with concerns over the growing demand on children’s health services, specifically at Children’s Village and the Family Birthplace.

Since then, we’ve been assessing the need, impact, and future growth a capital campaign could have on Children’s Village, the Family Birthplace, and our community. Through this, we’ve discovered that over the past ten years, the number of children seeking vital health services at Children’s Village has more than doubled from 4,000 to over 9,500 per year. Our local Family Birthplace was last updated in 1993 (nearly thirty years ago!) and has been the place of over 70,000 births since. Specialty services for children are also projected to grow 52% over the next five years, meaning many families will have to travel to find care if it’s not offered in our community.

This led to start of the Children’s Health and Medical Program Campaign (CHAMPS for short). The CHAMPS campaign will help address many of these needs and more in the following ways:

Expanding Children’s Village means…

• Increasing treatment rooms from 10 to 21
• Expanding the building by 10,737 square feet
• Adding behavioral health and therapy treatment rooms
• Increasing staff by about 60% (adding about 50 people)
  • Special focus on behavioral health services and integration with all medical and therapeutic services
• Serving nearly 1,000 additional children per year

Bringing more medical pediatric specialists will mean…

• Increasing specialty clinic exam rooms from 8 to 18
• Adding a pediatric urology department, among other specialty services by contracting with regional pediatric specialty centers such as Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Adding a medical lab clinic on-site at Children’s Village
• Expanding the playroom so children who don’t have appointments can be cared for, allowing the parents to focus on the appointment they’re there for

Upgrading the Family Birthplace will mean…

Updating 24 birthing, six recovery, and three obstetrical emergency department rooms

Improving resuscitations stations to add medical air, upgraded warmers, and cabinets

Replacing delivery room lighting, sleeper beds for caregivers, and public areas

Increasing security and install badge access doors

Babies won’t wait and children with special health care needs shouldn’t have to. Since 2020 we have raised over $8.3 million through local support, grants, and other funding initiatives. Thanks to the amazing and compassionate supporters, we are only $6 million away from reaching the campaign’s goal and we need your help to get there! Get involved or donate today by visiting champscampaign.org.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the CHAMPS campaign in any capacity, we are so excited to be nearing our financial goal so work can start!