The Durango Derailers Patient Assistance Fund is there to support and serve our community families both in moments of crisis as well as planned pediatric specialty clinic visits with travel assistance in the form of gas and lodging allotments. The Fund is housed both at Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation and locally at the Community Foundation serving SW Colorado. Original fundraising was designated for use when children had medical care at Children's Hospital Colorado. As of the fall of 2022 we have expanded our mission to include gas and lodging assistance for those traveling to ANY pediatric hospital or specialty location outside of SW Colorado. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who makes this possible - our Corporate Sponsors, Donors, Riders and Dancers. 2023 TOTAL DONATIONS came in at $202,362!
The fund is not intended for use to defray costs of medical care or deductibles.
The Durango/Southwestern Colorado areas defined for access to these funds includes La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, San Juan, Ouray and Archuleta counties in Colorado.
Steps to ACCESS funds: 1. If your child's care is at Children's Hospital Colorado main Anschutz campus, we encourage families to contact the Department their child has an appointment with (i.e. Cardiology, Pulmonology, Genetics, etc) and ask to speak with that department specific social worker. If you do not know the department phone number, you can contact the main campus operator at 720-777-1234 or go through the main social work office at 720-777-6975. If you are visiting the CHCO Colorado Springs Campus, use phone number 719-305-7246 to reach the social work department for assistance. They can help assess what resources your child could qualify for and help with stays at Ronald McDonald house. Locally we can provide a gas card to help your family drive to the front range for your upcoming CHCO appointment.
2. Please additionally fill out this online form, to submit your request for gas assistance and hotel (3 day maximum) assistance.
3. For children/families living in San Juan County, New Mexico please reach out to Children's Hope Foundation for similar services at https://thechildrenshope.org