FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anita Blomme, 919-673-9591

The John Rex Endowment Funds Project Access for Children

Uninsured Children to Receive Free Diagnostic and Specialty Care

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 27, 2008) - The John Rex Endowment announces a two-year grant of $90,335 to support Project Access for Children, a physician-led community effort, managed by Wake County Medical Society's Community Health Foundation. The grant funding will enable Project Access for Children to provide free diagnostic and specialty care for children in low-income households (family incomes below 185 percent poverty) who do not have access to public health insurance and cannot afford medical care.

The new grant funding supports:

• Screenings for children at participating clinics and through public school health nurses
• Enrollment of volunteer physicians to provide service to qualified pediatric patients
• Referrals for children and youth for appropriate diagnosis, procedures and medication

Approximately 400 children and youth in Wake County will receive services. Medications will be provided for asthma, diabetes, ADHD and neurological disorders for approximately one in three patients. Top specialty referrals will include endocrinology, ENT, ophthalmology, pathology/laboratory and radiology.

With this new two-year grant, the John Rex Endowment's support of Project Access for Children since 2003 totals $202,335.

For more information about Project Access, visit www.wakedocs.org. To learn more about projects and programs supported by the John Rex Endowment, visit www.rexendowment.org.

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The John Rex Endowment invests in the development and support of activities, programs and organizations that improve the health of underserved people in Wake and surrounding counties. Currently, the Endowment supports visible and measurable improvements in the health of children and youth by improving access to health services, by promoting healthy behaviors and by providing opportunities for growth and development. To learn more please visit www.rexendowment.org.