Auxiliary

The car seat program provides qualifying families a free car seat to safely travel home with their newborn. Missouri state law requires all newborn babies be secured in a car seat when being discharged from the hospital.

The Auxiliary provides annual scholarships to NKCH and MH employees and volunteers to assist in furthering their study in a healthcare-related field. The funds are provided after successfully completing the identified course, meeting eligibility requirements, submitting an application and receiving approval from the scholarship committee. Historically, the Auxiliary has distributed more than $125,000 in scholarship money.

Starting in 2023, the Auxiliary expanded their giving to provide funds for students in the hospital’s School of Medical Laboratory Science (MLS). The MLS program is one of only six programs in Missouri. It is a competitive 47-week full-time program which provides lectures and clinical experiences to complete the final year of MLS education. Scholarship recipients are chosen based on completion of an application and selection by the committee. Students use these funds to help offset the cost of textbooks, tuition and board exam fees.
 

In 2023, the Auxiliary donated $18,000 to purchase a TRANS-SIT® simulator for occupational therapy patients to learn and practice car transfer skills. The car has functional doors, a tilt-steering wheel, seatbelts and two seats. Space behind the seats simulates loading and unloading a wheelchair. Another helpful feature is a hydraulic lift, which allows the car to be raised and lowered to mirror the car the patient drives. Last, a reaction time tester correlates reaction times while driving. The tester can help the physician determine if outpatient driving rehabilitation is needed.