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p.r.n. Teams With The Children's Home
By Lois Thomson
It's a perfect match—p.r.n. Health Services and The Children's Home of Pittsburgh. p.r.n. (which stands for "pro rata nata," a medical term meaning, "as needed") provides varying types of home care for people—as needed, whether it's going to their homes on a daily basis or just dropping in for an hour or two each week. The Children's Home is a nonprofit organization that promotes the health and well-being of infants and children through services which establish and strengthen the family.
Because their purpose is often closely associated, the two groups frequently work together. "The services they (p.r.n.) provide are services used by the people we serve," said Robin Weber, Director of Marketing for The Children's Home. And for that reason, p.r.n. has decided to support The Children's Home as its full-time charity.
Weber said Ron Beyer of p.r.n. attended The Children’s Home's annual "Shake Your Booties" event this year, a dinner dance fundraiser held each February. (Last year alone, the event – which is in its fourth year – raised $135,000 for The Children’s Home.) But the event turned out to be more than just a social affair for Beyer. "He purchased items from our live and silent auctions," Weber continued, "and then he also came to tour the facility and learn more about it; and it's grown from there."
Beyer, who is the Marketing Director of p.r.n., explained how p.r.n. became interested in The Children's Home. "We've had some of their patients," he said; "and they're children. I've got a soft spot in my heart for them, so we feel compelled to do it." He added that the impetus for doing it now was that The Children’s Home is building a new facility "because they need more room for children."
But Beyer is quick to deflect the attention away from p.r.n. and toward The Children's Home. Established in 1893 and currently located in two buildings in Shadyside, The Children's Home has three facets: Child's Way® provides critical medical day care for up to 47 children, from newborns to the age of 8, who have numerous medical problems. The Transitional Infant Care (T.I.C.®) Hospital provides care for premature and high-risk infants who need additional hospitalization after being released from traditional hospital intensive care units. The third is the Adoption Program, the philosophy of which is that "adoption is a lifelong journey, not an isolated event."
It's easy to see why any organization supplying these types of services would be close to bursting at the seams. Pam Schanwald, CEO of The Children's Home, indicated there is a dual need for a new facility. "There's a demand for our services that we can't currently meet," she said. "We are limited by space. Also, when we started Child's Way (in 1998), we recognized early on that it would be nice to have all of the health care programs in one place."
To gather everything under one roof and to expand its services, The Children's Home is building a new facility in Bloomfield on the site of the former St. Joseph Nursing & Health Care Center at 5324 Penn Avenue. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall.
That's where p.r.n. comes in. "I told Kate (Kate Burroughs, Director of Development at The Children's Home), that we'd raise $50,000 for them by next year," Beyer said. "Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money, but we have more than 600 employees and we're going to get everyone involved." He added that this is the first time p.r.n. has ever undertaken a project like this. "This is new for p.r.n.," he said, "but we decided to do it because of The Children’s Home."
Schanwald said she was "pleasantly surprised" when she learned of p.r.n.'s offer. "I think it's wonderful that their organization would take on a cause in this way. Our organizations are aligned in the health care field, so what's really nice is that we're both familiar with the (children's) needs. And it's unique to have a corporation helping a nonprofit."
Beyer said p.r.n. formed a committee to help plan ways to raise money. "The first thing we want to do is have a flea market in Oakmont on July 24 from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m." For more information, or to donate items, contact Beyer at 412-824-2181 and he will arrange for a pick-up. Other fundraising events will be scheduled throughout the year.
According to Beyer, there's no doubt about the ultimate goal: "The Children's Home is going to be p.r.n.'s fulltime charity."
For more information, call p.r.n. at 412-824-2181 or visit www.childrenshomepgh.org.
