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The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health today announced a $500 million fundraising campaign on behalf of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the pediatric research and training programs of the Stanford University School of Medicine. A $100 million grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation launched the five-year campaign, believed to be the largest ever undertaken for a U.S. children's hospital. The campaign coincides with the 10th anniversary of the opening of Packard Hospital, and signals a push toward new levels of excellence, said Harvey Cohen, MD, PhD, chief of staff at the hospital and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Oscar Salvatierra with patient Angel Omar Ortiz-Soto. Photo: Steve Fisch "In our first 10 years, we have built a solid foundation," Cohen said. "Our hospital already is known for its dedication to family-centered care. We are leaders in kidney and liver transplantation, newborn intensive care and childhood cancer treatment. Now, with the campaign, we are ready to build on our successes. No event since we opened our doors in 1991 has held such great promise to improve the lives of children, both now and in the future." Philip A. Pizzo, MD, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine, said the alliance of Packard Children's Hospital and the School of Medicine with Stanford University and various charitable sources from Silicon Valley, provides an unparalleled opportunity for breakthroughs in children's health. Collaborations among physicians, basic medical researchers and university researchers in fields such as engineering and computer technology promise advanced treatments, he said. Pizzo, a pediatric cancer specialist who most recently was physician-in-chief at Boston Children's Hospital and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, emphasized the crucial role of children's hospitals in training pediatric specialists. "I cannot overstate how critical it is that these unique hospitals can continue to exist," he said. "An investment of this magnitude will have a profound impact on the health of children everywhere," said Stephen Peeps, chairman and CEO of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health. "The goals of our campaign are to ensure that Packard Children's Hospital is able to provide the finest health care for any of Northern California's children for generations to come, and to support rapid strides toward treatments and cures for diseases that have devastating effects on children and their families." Christopher Dawes, president and CEO of Packard, noted that, like most hospitals, Packard faces a difficult economic market. "While we operate with a small positive margin, we continue to face major financial challenges," he said. Packard's $71 million endowment is far smaller than that of longer-established children's hospitals. Boston Children's Hospital, for example, has an endowment exceeding $800 million, and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles has more than $300 million in endowment. "Yet our plans to make advances in diagnosis and treatment
require new and better facilities, the latest equipment, highly
trained faculty and staff, and the best medical students," Dawes
said. "This will require extraordinary support from the
philanthropic community." |
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Stanford Report, November 28, 2001
