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The Keller Family Community Foundation (KFCF) out of Richmond, Minnesota, has granted the Portage Health Foundation $2,000 to purchase gas-only gift cards for the continuation of a medical transportation program at UP Health System-Portage. The goal of this transportation program is to ease cancer patients’ financial burden of traveling to and from medical treatments by providing gas cards.
Eligible individuals must be cancer patients at UPHS-Portage and be experiencing a financial hardship. Patients and their families may receive up to $150 per 12-month period to help cover fuel costs. Cancer patients should speak with a staff member from the UPHS-Portage Oncology Department to complete a gas-card application.
As a rural community, many patients are required to travel over 100 miles to receive their specialized cancer care. This travel can place a high financial burden on many patients and their families. Fortunately, through the financial support offered by KFCF and the PHFoundation, these gas cards can help make cancer care more easily accessible. “The PHFoundation has had a long and successful relationship with the Keller Family Community Foundation that has helped provide needed assistance to patients seeking care for their cancer. We are honored to be able to offer some assistance to these individuals as they continue down the path of health recovery,” said Kevin Store, Executive Director of the PHFoundation.
The PHFoundation’s mission is to support the health needs of the community through enhanced philanthropy and community collaboration throughout Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties while KFCF’s mission is to support research, education, and informational activities that increase the public’s awareness regarding the prevention and treatment of chronic health conditions. “We understand that cancer is a life-changing event for patients and their families. If we can help ease some of the patients’ burdens by providing gas cards, we will continue to uphold KFCF’s mission as well as our own,” added Store.
