FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pittsburgh, PA – Achieva, a leading disability services organization serving more than 10,000 Pennsylvanians annually, announced it has received a $1 million grant from Highmark to launch a comprehensive home transition program for children with complex medical needs.
The program addresses a critical gap for families in Pennsylvania’s healthcare system, where hundreds of children with disabilities and complex medical conditions currently live in hospitals or pediatric extended care facilities instead of homes with their families. These children face long-term institutionalization due to limited access to consistent and appropriate caregiving, financial constraints, complex government regulations, and gaps in service coordination.
"Every child deserves to grow up in a loving family environment, not in a hospital room," said Steve Suroviec, President and CEO of Achieva. “This generous support from Highmark will allow us to build service capacity and remove barriers that keep medically complex children separated from their families, creating a clear pathway home.”
Research consistently shows that children thrive best when living with families rather than in institutional settings, with improved developmental outcomes and stronger family bonds. However, transitioning these children home (or keeping them home in the first place) often requires intensive case management by a nurse, home-based medical equipment and technology, respite for the parents or caregivers, and expensive home modifications, while government funding frequently moves too slowly or falls short of actual needs.
Achieva's new program will provide comprehensive support including:
Expert case management and clinical oversight
Rapid problem-solving without bureaucratic delays
Direct funding for critical home modifications
Technology and medical equipment support
Coordinated care through a dedicated medical director and specialized staff
"Highmark is proud to support Achieva's innovative approach to keeping families together," said Kenya T. Boswell, senior vice president of Community Affairs for Highmark Health and President of the Highmark Foundation. “This program represents exactly the kind of community-based solution that can transform lives while reducing long-term healthcare costs."
The initiative is part of Achieva's Beyond Boundaries campaign, which aims to expand services and support more Pennsylvanians with disabilities to lead lives of personal significance. The program will serve as a coordinating model that eliminates the stress families currently experience navigating multiple agencies, forms, and approval processes while their children remain in institutional settings.
Achieva expects the program to significantly reduce unnecessary institutional placements while strengthening family bonds and improving developmental outcomes for some of the community's most vulnerable children.
For more information about Achieva, visit SupportBrightFutures.org.
About Achieva: Achieva supports more than 10,000 Pennsylvanians with disabilities annually through housing, caregiving, employment, and advocacy programs. The organization is dedicated to supporting people with disabilities to lead lives of personal significance in their communities.
About Highmark Inc.
An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark Inc., together with its Blue-branded affiliates, collectively comprise the fifth largest overall Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization in the country with more than 7 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and western and northeastern New York. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.
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Media Contact:
Marcia Wallander
VP of Advancement
412.676.7974
mwallander@achieva.info