Better Together
At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, our goal is to improve the health of children wherever they are. Grounded in data and powered by partnerships, we know that children thrive when their communities thrive.
Our work is guided by a simple but powerful framework: Heal. Strengthen. Prosper. Together, we can meet today's needs, strengthen resilience for the future and invest in opportunities for lasting well-being.
Care that meets youth where they are
For many adolescents — especially LGBTQ+ youth — accessing sexual health care can feel unsafe, uncomfortable or out of reach.
Through a Mobile Health Unit and the iKNOWUSHOULD2 digital campaign, youth ages 13 to 24 can access testing, guidance and reliable health information in ways that feel approachable and affirming. Learn More
From limited resources to a clinic on wheels
Before the Mobile Health Unit existed, care often depended on borrowed rooms or what staff could carry with them — limiting privacy, comfort and consistency.
The Adolescent Initiative created the Mobile Health Unit exclusively for youth and young adults, giving adolescents a place to access care on their own terms. The customized RV clinic brings HIV testing, screenings and resources directly to neighborhoods across the Philadelphia region.
1,000+ youth served each year Services include HIV screening, linkage to HIV care, PrEP and other preventive services, and health navigation.
A safe space built for adolescents
Inside the Mobile Health Unit, young people can get rapid testing for HIV or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), connect to services, ask questions, or simply take a break. Music plays. Phones can charge. Care begins with conversation, consistency and trust.
The unit travels to parks, recreation centers and community events — creating environments that feel safe, confidential and judgement-free.
Safe space and responsible community engagement are key things that keep youth engaged and coming back.
Matty Lehman, MSS, Social Worker and Program Coordinator, Adolescent Initiative
Shaped by youth voices
Young people help guide the Adolescent Initiative through a Youth Community Advisory Board that meets monthly. Their ideas shaped the Mobile Health Unit’s Philly-inspired artwork, informed self-care kits and inspired a queer resource guide connecting youth to affirming spaces across Philadelphia.
The iKNOWUSHOULD2 website extends that work online with clear information about HIV, STIs and PrEP — medication that helps prevent HIV.
Youth can learn more about the Mobile Health Unit at iknowushould2.com
Children aren’t just small adults
When a child experiences a serious medical emergency, every second matters. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers must make critical decisions quickly — often without frequent hands-on pediatric experience — giving many providers limited opportunities to practice pediatric-specific skills.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) helps EMS providers build the skills and confidence to care for children when it matters most — from the moment help arrives. Learn More
Pediatric readiness beyond hospital walls
CHOP’s Center for Life Support Education and Outreach (CLSEO), in collaboration with the CHOP Outreach Center for Expertise in Pediatric Emergency Readiness and Training (ExPERT), brings pediatric emergency education directly to EMS providers throughout the region.
With support from CHOP’s Office of Community Impact, the program helps EMS teams strengthen pediatric care skills.
Training changes care in the field
After completing the training, EMS providers recognized signs of worsening illness in a child experiencing a severe asthma attack and began treatment before arriving at the hospital.
Using the Pediatric Assessment Triangle and other concepts from the training, they clearly communicated the child's condition to CHOP clinicians.
Strengthening emergency care in the region
Through a CHOP Cares Community Grant, CHOP child life specialists and EMS educators also developed comfort kits and training that help EMS providers better support children with autism, sensory sensitivities and communication challenges during emergency transport.
CHOP is evaluating the Philadelphia Fire Department (FD) program through one of the nation's largest studies of pediatric EMS education, with findings recently presented nationally.
200+ Philadelphia FD EMS providers trained since 2025
350+ additional EMS providers trained across southeastern PA
A Simple, Smart Solution
Period poverty can prevent people from attending school, work or job interviews. It can also lead to psychological stress, including shame and depression, and health issues like urinary or reproductive infections — especially for those in shelters.
The Period Project, created by CHOP trainees, social workers, volunteers and HHI leaders with support from a CHOP Cares Community Grant, provides “period packs” with supplies for a full cycle, promoting health, dignity and opportunity.
Helping Thousands Every Year
The initiative has provided supplies for more than 10,000 periods. In a recent survey, 96% of participants said the packs help them attend school, work or job interviews.
“Most shelter residents arrive literally with just the clothes on their back and no means of income. Therefore, when their menstrual [cycle] comes on, they are in need of products. Having products on hand eliminates any shame or stigmas one may feel.”— Residential services manager at HHI partner shelter
Helpers Make It Happen
The Period Project relies on monetary donations, period product drives and in-kind donations to stay stocked and sustainable. Teams across CHOP and external partners support the effort by collecting donations and assembling kits at monthly volunteer events.
The project has also received support from the CHOP Foundation’s Helping Hands Community Care Challenge, with corporate volunteers joining in. These changemakers show how small actions can fight big inequities.
Promoting Wellness Equity to Help Kids BE-WEHL
Mental health is vital to overall well-being, and mind-body practices are effective tools for enhancing it. Recognizing this, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) launched the Integrative Health (IH) Program 10 years ago to incorporate wellness practices such as yoga, massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture into patient care.
Now, IH is bringing the benefits of these practices into the community through their Behavioral Health — Wellness Equity for a Healthy Life (BE-WEHL) program. Learn More
Launched in 2020
The BE-WEHL program offers a comprehensive seven-session curriculum designed to help children and families in under-resourced communities manage stress and cope with life's challenges. The curriculum covers mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, yoga, self-massage, breathwork, nature and progressive muscle relaxation.
It was developed by experts from Integrative Health to address the unique needs of communities with higher levels of trauma and limited access to behavioral health professionals for children and adolescents.
By the Numbers
BE-WEHL is unique in that we're not talking about a disease-specific thing. The focus is on stress, wellness and mindfulness. That allows us to be flexible and adapt the program, while always focusing on children.
Complementary therapies, like yoga, massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture, are traditionally accessed by affluent populations, so as a team we really wanted to find a way to systematically make these practices more available to populations living in underserved areas.
Growth Since Launch
BE-WEHL has continuously evolved to maximize its impact and sustainability. Initially focused on offering one-on-one virtual classes for CHOP patients with behavioral health challenges and their families, the program expanded in 2022 with support from CHOP's Office of Community Impact. This funding enabled BE-WEHL to bring its curriculum into elementary schools, reaching children ages 5-14.
More recently, the program introduced professional training workshops empowering educators at early childhood centers to adopt wellness practices to manage their own stress and teach these strategies to children.
Medicine and More: The Family Connects Program
Sometimes, a family visiting the Emergency Department at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has social needs that go beyond their child's immediate medical problem. Families may struggle to have enough food or a safe place to live. CHOP created Family Connects to provide community resources to meet those social needs. Learn More
Healthy Food, Healthy Childhood
When a family doesn't have the resources to put nutritious food on the table, providing a bag of groceries just answers an immediate problem. The Food as Medicine program takes a broader approach that includes nutrition education for families and activities for kids so they're learning about healthy food while having fun. And it happens right where the kids receive their healthcare: The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Primary Care Center, Norristown.
The program began when social worker Victoria Armstrong saw Norristown families facing food instability coming out of the pandemic. Learn More
Food — and So Much More for Families
Families Enrolled in Food as Medicine receive:
- Weekly delivery of fresh produce May through November, complete with info on what's in the box and recipes to try
- Twice monthly delivery of nonperishable groceries
- Monthly family sessions with exercise, story time, gardening, cooking demonstrations and dinner
- Cooking equipment that includes cutting boards, knives, grater, pots, pans and more, plus a cookbook of family-friendly, healthy fare
- Monthly children's book related to gardening or healthy eating
- Yoga mat and water bottle for each child
It Takes a Village to Offer Family Nights
Community partners that support Food as Medicine:
- Cutloose Cares and leaders Jordan and Emily Deane
- Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which provided the on-site garden, cooking demonstrations and weekly produce boxes
- Martha's Choice Marketplace, a Catholic Social Services food pantry in Norristown
- Norristown-area restaurants
- Reach Out and Read and other CHOP volunteers
Learn About CHOP's Food-related Programs
Photos of a Food as Medicine family night
Our Financial Commitment
Our pledge to improve the health of children and the broader community takes on many forms: thousands of employee volunteer hours, free use of our facilities for community organizations, free health education and training for families and professionals, donated goods and services, and, of course, financial. Through all these efforts, in fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025), CHOP contributed more than $830 million to this effort.
All financial data is for fiscal year July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. These reports include amounts expended by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s hospital facilities, as reported on Schedule H of the IRS Form 990, and our controlled affiliates, including our physician practice plans, which are not required to complete Schedule H. Accordingly, the values on this fact sheet are greater than the amounts reported in the CHOP Schedule H, which applies only to our hospital facilities. For more information, call CHOP’s Office of Community Impact at 267-426-5506.
Financial Assistance Policy Summary: The mission of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is to advance healthcare for children. To help children get the care that they need, CHOP provides financial assistance for medically necessary and emergency care to patients who meet the eligibility requirements. If CHOP determines that a patient is eligible, CHOP will waive 100% of the patient’s financial responsibility (after all applicable insurances and other government assistance). Learn more about our financial assistance policy. View previous Community Impact Reports and Financial Commitments.
Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Commitment
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Financial Assistance / Charity Care Cost of medical care services for families that qualify for CHOP’s financial assistance policy | 9,862,372 |
| Medicaid Programs Unreimbursed cost of Medicaid and other means-tested government health programs | 456,385,461 |
| Community Health Improvement Services Community-based clinical services, health education and support services focused on public health | 28,102,896 |
| Health Professions Education Net costs incurred by CHOP to train health professionals, including pediatricians | 82,510,733 |
| Subsidized Health Services Hospital-based clinical services provided at a financial loss to the organization | 92,291,318 |
| Research Cost of studies that identify new treatments and cures | 154,351,477 |
| Cash and In Kind Contributions Funds and goods provided to other organizations to provide community benefit | 7,364,545 |
| Total | 830,868,802 |