Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) celebrated the securement of $1.45 million in funds for Miami’s Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Earlier this week, she announced that she would be visiting Nickalus Children’s Hospital for a check presentation ceremony for two projects.
According to a press release from her office, the two projects, which include bolstering the Mental Health Facility and starting a cutting-edge Nicklaus Children’s Pharmacogenomic Testing Program, “will provide tailored medicine for children and increase the hospital’s capacity for mental and behavioral health services.” The press release adds that the two programs will “advance the hospital’s mission of providing the best possible care to improve patient outcomes.”
In a statement, Rep. Salazar praised the securement of funds, saying that “the doctors and staff at Nickalus Children’s Hospital are nothing short of miracle workers, and I am proud to support their work in Congress.” “I am thrilled to have secured over $1.4 million to provide cutting-edge medicine to children and help the hospital confront our nation’s growing mental health crisis.”
Matthew A. Love, the President and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System, thanked Rep. Salazar for her support, expressing that “these two projects are just an example of what you’ve done to help us – both on the mental health side and in personalized medicine.”
“On behalf of all the kids here, all the physicians, all the nurses and staff, thank you for supporting Nicklaus Children’s and the community,” Love concluded.
The press release announcing the securement of funds provided further information on the amount of funds being allotted to each program as well as providing information on what the programs will contribute.
- $1 million was awarded to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for a Mental Health Facility Expansion. This project will improve mental health services for children by expanding the existing outpatient facilities at the hospital. The new outpatient location will be within a few minutes of the hospital and will include consultation rooms, therapy rooms, and other spaces for patients and families. This is vital to address the growing number of children with mental health concerns.
- $450,000 was awarded to start the cutting-edge Nicklaus Children’s Pharmacogenomic Testing Program. This is a first of its kind initiative to provide individualized medicine to children. With these new methods, we can use children’s unique characteristics and genetics to make tailored medicine just for them. This will deliver more effective treatments and save lives. Nicklaus Children’s is one of the few children’s hospitals in the nation offering this service, and the first of its kind in South Florida.
