Mobile health units provide health care to children throughout St. Louis
St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one large step closer to sustaining the Healthy Kids Express program—the region’s only free, comprehensive, and regularly scheduled mobile health units that provide children with access to a variety of services—thanks to generous donations from a well-known partner.
Transformational investments by the Crawford Taylor Foundation, Enterprise Mobility Foundation, and members from the Taylor and Kindle families represent a shared commitment to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital advocacy and outreach programs. The Taylor family owns the St. Louis-based Enterprise Mobility, a leading provider of mobility solutions, and are known for their longstanding generosity to our region. This support transforms the hospital’s mission to do what’s right for kids into actionable plans involving community members, employees, medical staff, donors, and families.
“As an organization and as a family, we are dedicated to St. Louis and bettering our local community,” said Chrissy Taylor, president and CEO of Enterprise Mobility. “Our aim is to support the children in the St. Louis area and invest generously in their future. They represent the next leaders and visionaries who will continue to make St. Louis a thriving city to call home.”
The $38 million gift will jumpstart an endowment fund that will allow the Healthy Kids Express to be fully funded by St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation by providing a reliable source of funding for the program’s long-term needs. Reaching beyond the hospital setting, Healthy Kids Express programs deliver health-related resources and education to families and communities throughout the St. Louis region to help keep them healthy, safe, and thriving.
“Endowments are vital because they provide a long-term source of revenue that allows us to plan for the future by generating predictable annual income,” said Tanya Waskiewicz, chief development officer of St. Lous Children’s Hospital. “With a stable income stream for our Healthy Kids Express programs, their leadership team can focus on strategic initiatives that include growth and helping even more children instead of worrying about funding.”
Since its inception in 2000, the Healthy Kids Express mobile fleet has grown to include multiple vans, each focused on a specific health care need: asthma, dental care, diabetes, and preventive screening. This donor-funded initiative unlocks access to world-class care for children and families throughout the St. Louis region. It enables our nurses, nurse practitioners, community health team members, and asthma coaches to expand their expertise beyond hospital doors and directly into schools, daycare centers, Head Start programs, and community youth and family organizations. In 2024, Healthy Kids Express increased access to care for children by expanding to 161 partnerships with local schools, daycares, and community organizations.
“Families that are systematically under resourced experience many barriers to care in St Louis. Examples of these barriers include lack of reliable transportation, experiencing being unhoused, living at or below poverty level, limited health literacy, or navigating Medicaid,” said Trish Lollo, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “This new transformational gift will ensure life-changing health care access for families who struggle to deal with daily disease management, intervention, and care coordination.”
In 2021, a generous gift from the Crawford Taylor Foundation allowed the Healthy Kids Express–Dental program to expand. This included a second mobile unit outfitted for procedures requiring patient sedation and the recruitment of highly skilled professionals for both vehicles.
“The Healthy Kids Express–Dental program has provided care for the students of Nahed Chapman New American Academy for more than 12 years,” said Phyllis Guest, school nurse at Nahed Chapman New American Academy. “Most of our students have never seen a dentist, and many students are in pain because of unresolved dental issues. The families are so appreciative of the care they receive, and there is a long list of families waiting for an appointment for these much-needed services. It’s so important for us to keep bringing the mobile van to our school and help these families get the care they deserve.”
Every day, families come to St. Louis Children’s looking for answers and treatments they can’t find anywhere else. Established in 1993, St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation exists to raise awareness and funds to support research and scientific discovery, while improving access to care for patients and their families.
Learn more about the Healthy Kids Express program.
To inquire about a Healthy Kids Express mobile unit coming to your area, please email healthykidsexpress@bjc.org.
