DAPHNE, Ala. — Mercy Medical’s Guardian Angel program received its largest donation ever Thursday as representatives of the Polo at the Point charity sporting event presented a $100,000 check to the hospital. The money will help cover the costs for critically ill children to receive hospice and palliative care.

Since 1988, Polo at the Point — held annually in October at the Sonny Hill-Clearwater Farms Polo Complex in Point Clear — has raised money to benefit cancer research and fund area non-profit organizations and children’s charities.

The $100,000 donation will fund Mercy’s Guardian Angel program, a fundraising organization that supports the cost of pediatric home care provided by the facility.

“Thanks to the efforts of Point Clear Charities, children in our community will have the resources for the best care available,” Mercy’s director of marketing Donna Wilhelm said.

Mercy Medical’s pediatric home care services deliver pediatric health care, palliative and hospice care at home to children with life-threatening conditions.

The hospital established the Guardian Angel program to ensure that highly-trained pediatric nurses and health-care professionals provide care while allowing a child to remain at home with family rather than in an acute care hospital, according to a news release.

The program contends that it will cover all necessary health-care costs for any child in need, regardless of the family’s ability to pay for services.

Since 1998, Mercy’s pediatric home care has served more than 1,000 children and their families in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

“This level of speciality care is priceless to families because it allows their critically ill children to remain at home where they can be surrounded by family and friends,” Sister Marilyn Graf, Mercy’s vice president of mission integration, said in a statement. “The contribution made today by the Point Clear Charities will ensure that Mercy Medical can continue to provide quality medical care to critically ill children in our area.

“It is with a grateful heart that I thank everyone responsible including sponsors, guests, players, the community and volunteers of Polo at the Point, for giving us the means to keep our children at home in the loving embrace of their families at a most critical time in their lives.”

Point Clear Charities annually designates a primary receiver of its donation; this year, the group selected Mercy’s Guardian Angel program for the impact it has on the community while treating critically ill children and their families, a spokesperson said.

“Polo at the Point is about community, family and friends, and most importantly raising money for local charities,” Point Clear board member Travis Goodloe said in a news release. “When you meet families in Mercy’s pediatric program and hear their stories, you passionately understand how vital the program is to our community.

“It is incredibly gratifying to know proceeds of Polo at the Point have benefitted such a worthy cause,” he said.

A worthy cause such as helping to save the life of 5-year-old Eliza Johnson, who was diagnosed with juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma two years ago when doctors during an MRI found two growths at the base of Eliza’s posterior skull.

The tumor was surgically removed when Eliza was 3; however, the growth has recurred in her brain stem, requiring chemotherapy treatments and blood transfusions.

Jill Johnson, Eliza’s mother, credits the Guardian Angel program for maintaining her daughter’s quality of life.

“Mercy’s pediatric home care is our saving grace,” she said in a news release.

For more information on Polo at the Point, visit www.poloatthepoint.com; for Mercy’s Guardian Angel program, call the Mercy Medical Development Office at 621-4884.