Resources
WHAT CAN COMPASSIONATE TOUCH OFFER ME?
Compassionate Touch can offer assistance to patients and their families in Houston, Dallas, Central Texas (Austin, Round Rock, Temple), and Tarrant County (Ft. Worth). We assist with needs in the following areas.
- Lodging – Up to five consecutive nights at specific hotels
- Food/Meals
- Parking/Travel
- Medication (Solid Organ Transplant-Patients Only)
- Living Expenses (Assessed by the Social Worker)
HOW OFTEN CAN I RECEIVE ASSISTANCE FROM COMPASSIONATE TOUCH?
We typically award funding on a one-time basis per patient per year. Patients hospitalized at one of the designated Texas hospitals are eligible to apply for funding.
HOW ARE NEEDS ASSESSED?
A Texas hospital social worker will assess the patient’s needs and help us determine if a patient qualifies for Compassionate Touch funding. Compassionate Touch assists patients and families in need regardless of race, gender, type of disease or injury, age, geographical origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious preference.
Hotels
When making reservations at a hotel, ask for the medical rate!
PARTNERING HOTELS
We currently partner with one hotel in the Houston area. As a result, we can only cover hotel expenses for this hotel. Please contact a hospital social worker if you would like to apply for assistance from Compassionate Touch for lodging at this hotel.
America’s Best Value
7905 S Main St, Houston, TX 77025
(713) 667-8200
Designated Hospitals
We currently provide assistance for patients in the following hospitals.
Houston
Baylor St. Luke’s
Ben Taub General Hospital
Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital
Harris County Psychiatric Center
Houston Methodist Hospital
Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Memorial Hermann Hospital
Michael E. DeBakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center
Texas Children’s Hospital
The Woman’s Hospital of Texas
TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital
Dallas
Children’s Medical Center
Dallas Transplant Institute
Medical City Health – Dallas
Methodist Dallas Medical Center
Parkland Health & Hospital System
Fort Worth
Cook Children’s Medical Center
Medical City Health – Fort Worth
Central Texas
Amy’s House
Ascension Seton Medical Center
Cedar Park Regional Medical Center
Children’s Dialysis Clinic of Central Texas
Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas – Austin
Dell Seton Medical Center at UT Austin
St. David’s North Austin Medical Center
How to Apply
IS THERE A FORM TO FILL OUT?
The Social Services or Social Work Departments at our designated Texas hospitals have access to our online application. The patient, family member, or caregiver may contact a hospital social worker to fill out an application. If the patient is in a hospital room, they may contact the nurse’s station to request a visit from a hospital social worker. In all cases, a hospital social worker fills out the application and submits it to the Compassionate Touch office on behalf of the patient.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS FOR PROCESSING AN APPLICATION?
Once a social worker fills out the application, the social worker will send it to the Compassionate Touch office via a securely encrypted website to ensure patient confidentiality. We process all applications according to the date and time received. We typically process and award funding within a 72-hour workday turnaround. Please note that the Compassionate Touch office is closed on weekends and holidays. Once we have made a decision regarding an application, Compassionate Touch personnel will contact the hospital social worker who submitted the application about our decision, and the social worker will notify the patient, family member, or caregiver.
CONTACT YOUR SOCIAL WORKER FOR HELP
Each hospital has a core of social workers who are familiar with the helpful resources of our program. To determine if you qualify for non-medical financial assistance from Compassionate Touch, call and ask for the Social Service or Social Work department in the hospital where you or your loved one is a patient.
Additional Resource
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance is a non-profit children’s charity organized to provide emotional, educational, and practical assistance to children with cancer and their families treated at the Texas Medical Center. All programs and services are offered at no cost to families of children with cancer.
Children’s Cancer Cause is a national advocacy organization working to achieve access to less toxic and more effective pediatric cancer therapies, to expand resources for research and specialized care, and to address the unique needs and challenges of childhood cancer survivors and their families.
Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) helps over 12 million children every year. By supporting 170 premiere children’s hospitals in North America, CMN gives kids a chance they might not get any other way.
The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) is a National Cancer Institute supported clinical trials group exclusively devoted to childhood and adolescent cancer research. The COG unites more than 9,000 experts in childhood cancer at more than 200 leading children’s hospitals, universities, and cancer centers across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe in the fight against childhood cancer.
Make-a-Wish Foundation of America is an organization dedicated to fulfilling the wishes of children with critical illnesses.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) offers free, credible, and comprehensive information about cancer prevention and screening, diagnosis and treatment, research across the cancer spectrum, clinical trials, and news and links to other NCI websites.
Oncolink supports patients, caregivers, and practitioners through education and educational resources. This support can empower patients to make educated treatment decisions, be active participants in their care, and be their own advocate. They provide up-to-date cancer information, free of charge.
The Sunshine Kids Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life to children with cancer. They provide these children with exciting, positive group activities, free of charge, so they may once again do what kids are meant to do…have fun and celebrate life.