King’s Daughters Auxiliary funds projects totaling $450,000

For nearly 70 years, King’s Daughters Auxiliary has provided help and support to patients seeking care at UK King’s Daughters. Programs supported by the Auxiliary touch patients throughout the region and at all stages of life.

Last week, the Auxiliary, the official fundraising organization of King’s Daughters volunteer program, awarded more than $450,000 in grants, which included $64,800 from King’s Daughters Health Foundation.

“These grants support special projects to benefit patients and the community, ranging from infant car seats, to life vests for heart patients and compression garments for patients with lymphedema,” said Auxiliary President Charlene Qualls.

Over the past five years, the Auxiliary has awarded more than $1.7 million in grants in support of healthcare related programs at UK King’s Daughters. The Auxiliary raises funds through its hospital Gift Shop, Pavilion Uniform Shop, special sale events, such as Books are Fun and the $5 Jewelry Sale, the sale of logo wear, and more.

“Our Auxiliary plays a critical role in providing the extras that help patients heal, keep infants safe, and improve the overall quality of life,” said Amie Schwendeman, Volunteer Services manager at UK King’s Daughters. “Their contributions go far beyond financial,” she added. “The Auxiliary, and the volunteers it represents, are an integral part of life here and we are so grateful for all they do for our patients and communities.”

The grants were awarded Wednesday, Oct. 2, during the Auxiliary Fall Luncheon held at the Delta Hotel in Ashland.

Fiscal Year 2025 Grants

• AEDS for the Community: Helps purchase and distribute Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to first responders and non-profit organizations throughout our region.
• CVICU Heart Pillows: Provides open-heart surgery patients with a special pillow used to splint the chest and protect the breast bone and incisions when coughing, during breathing exercises, and when traveling.
• Healing Wounds from Within: Provides Juven, a nutritional supplement, for at-risk patients being discharged after hospitalization for treatment of non-healing wounds.
• Heart Failure Patient Support: Purchase of scales and blood pressure monitors for patients with heart failure in financial need.
• Home Health Assistance Fund/Supplies: Provides assistive devices to home health patients in need.
• Home Health Flu Vaccination: Helps ensure that uninsured/underinsured home health patients served by UK King’s Daughters receive flu vaccinations.
• Hypertension Prevention: Provides blood pressure monitors and education to at-risk hypertension/nephrology patients to allow them to self-monitor at home.
• Indigent Medical Equipment & Testing Supplies: Funds to assist UK King’s Daughters primary care practices in providing medical equipment and testing supplies to patients in need.
• Kid’s Kloset: Provides basic supplies and resources, including diapers, wipes, ointment, baby wash, towels, gowns, crib sheets, pacifiers, etc., to parents of newborns, pediatric patients, and NICU babies.
• Kid’s Mobile Market: Provides both financial and nutrition information in the schools. Kids receive Mobile Market dollars to use to purchase healthy foods at local farmers’ markets.
• Kingsbrook Resident Activity Fund: Supports enrichment activities for residents at Kingsbrook Lifecare Center, including entertainment, games, treats, prizes, and special outings.
• Life Vest: Provides Life Vest, a medical device used as a bridge during evaluation for permanent placement of an automatic internal defibrillator (AID).
• Lymphedema: Provides medically prescribed and needed compression garments for uninsured/underinsured patients diagnosed with lymphedema.
• Maternal Child Health Bereavement: Provides support and comfort to families dealing with infant loss.
• More Than Just a Meal: Support for UK King’s Daughters meals on wheels programs, which allow individuals to remain in their homes and independent.
• Newborn Care Seats: Ensures that every newborn in need will have an infant car seat upon discharge from the hospital.
• Obstetric Blood Pressure Monitors: Provides blood pressure monitors for pregnant women at risk for pre-eclampsia, allowing them to self-monitor at home.
• Pastoral Care: Provides large-print Bibles and “You are Loved” Buddies to patients and families in need of spiritual and emotional support.
• Patient & Family Services: Funding for basic clothing needs, shoes, meals, and funding for transportation for patients in need.
• Pessary Funding: This program provides medical devices to patients in financial need with pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence who are unable to have corrective surgery.
• Project Diaper: Establishes and supports a diaper closet at UK King’s Daughters pediatric clinics to assist parents in meeting diaper needs for newborns, babies, and toddlers.
• Pulse Oximeter Program: Provides patients with COPD and other lung disease with medical devices to monitor blood oxygen levels at home.
• Safe Ride Every Time: Helps support purchase and donation of car seats for children in conjunction with local law enforcement, schools, health departments and other agencies that work with families.
• Save-A-Life: Provides mammograms, breast ultrasound, breast MRI and breast biopsies for women in financial need at UK King’s Daughters.
• Tdap Vaccine for Obstetric Patients: Provides free Tdap vaccine to pregnant women at 27-36 weeks of pregnancy to provide the newborn with short-term protection against whooping cough.
• Teddy Bear Hugs: Provides stuffed teddy bears to pediatric patients and those with intellectual disabilities undergoing surgery at King’s Daughters or being transported by King’s Daughters Medical Transport.
• Thrive Together: Supports UK King’s Daughters Community Health Workers in addressing social determinants of health, providing essential services for those facing food insecurity, domestic violence, financial hardship, and other challenges.