Ruth Gottscho was 15 years old when she died of kidney disease in 1960 – before dialysis was widely available. That same year, her parents founded the Ruth Gottscho Kidney Foundation (RGKF) to help other New Jersey kidney patients. For several years the RGKF helped purchase home dialysis machines for families who could not afford this life-saving equipment.

When Medicare began paying for much of the treatment kidney patients needed, the RGKF focused on finding a way to help children with kidney disorders attend summer camp – a dream of Ruth’s that wasn’t possible during her lifetime.

Eva Gottscho, Ruth’s mother, was determined to find a camp that would be willing to support her idea of integrating kidney kids with regular campers. She approached a number of camps but was turned down repeatedly. Then she and RGKF board members met with the Frost Valley YMCA Camp. Its CEO and board of trustees thought it was a terrific idea. With the help of the foundation and equipment donations from dialysis machine manufacturers, the camp established a dialysis center, and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center enthusiastically agreed to staff it. To date, the foundation has paid medical and camp expenses for more than 1,600 kidney campers.
 

Ruth Gottscho
1945 -- 1960

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