Ellie's Fund at Duke

From a young age, Ellie was passionate about helping others with cystic fibrosis. Ellie felt strongly that an individual’s financial situation should never be a factor in precluding them from the highest level of medical care and treatment. Ellie’s Fund was born from her ideas and expressed desires while spending her last days as a patient at Duke Medicine.

The purpose of Ellie’s Fund is to provide financial assistance to cystic fibrosis patients and their families who meet the following criteria:

• The patient has met the criteria established by Duke Medicine to receive a lung transplant;
• The patient and family are experiencing a financial burden because of an unexpected, extended stay for the patient at Duke Hospital or nearby; and
• The Duke Lung Transplant Program has determined that the patient and family qualify for financial assistance in accordance with the procedure outlined below.

Grants of financial assistance shall be used to help patients and their families offset the cost of travel, lodging, food, and basic necessities.

Awarding of Financial Assistance

Patients and their families in need will be identified by Ellie’s Fund Team, which shall be comprised of the following: the Medical Director of the Duke Lung Transplant Program; the Assistant Medical Director of the Duke Lung Transplant Program; and an ad hoc working group of three employees of Duke University or Duke University Health System, Inc. who are appointed by the Medical Director of the Duke Lung Transplant Program, and which shall always include one social worker, one transplant coordinator, and one financial care counselor. Ellie’s Fund Team shall be responsible for (1) gathering the information required to make a decision to award financial assistance; and (2) making a decision to award financial assistance based upon the financial circumstances of the patient and family and the amount of funds available. Preference shall be given to those patients and families who have not received prior financial assistance from Ellie’s Fund. The decision as to how much financial assistance to award to a particular patient and that patient’s family shall be based upon a majority vote of the members of Ellie’s Fund Team.