Kim inside the “bubble” after treatment at M. D. Anderson.
Kim was in treatment at M. D. Anderson for more than a year, and was well aware of the research for which the institution is so well known. But, she also observed that patients of limited means struggled to find adequate housing and transportation during the course of the extensive treatments that leukemia patients must undergo. Since patients have compromised immune systems, housing must be as clean as possible. It must also be close enough to the hospital for the frequent, sometimes daily, visits for treatment that outpatients must have. This is expensive, and insurance coverage for housing and transportation is usually for limited and insufficient amounts. The patient must also be accompanied by a caregiver, usually a family member, so the housing cost is for two, not one, and two incomes are lost in the process.
Accordingly, it was Kim’s decision to have the proceeds from Kim’s Fund go in approximately equal amounts to research and to assistance for those with special financial needs while in treatment at M. D. Anderson. Since Kim’s Fund was established in 1999, assistance has been provided to many patients from throughout the country. The expenditure of these funds is directed by the heads of the Department of Social Work at M. D. Anderson. Social Work’s latest progress report states their gratitude for the help that Kim’s Fund has given to low-income leukemia patients, especially those who are undergoing stem cell transplants