LOS ANGELES, Oct. 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- An anonymous donor has made a $3 million 'challenge' to the residents of the Coachella Valley - the donor will match contributions made toward the construction of the New Hospital Building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles dollar-for-dollar up to $3 million.
It is the second 'challenge' to residents of the Coachella Valley to benefit the New Hospital Building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Residents of the Coachella Valley "...met and exceeded..." a $1 million 'challenge' made by the H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, a private family foundation based in Palm Desert, on June 1, 2005, to support the construction of the New Hospital Building.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles received $2,101,000 from residents of the Coachella Valley in response to the $1 million Berger Foundation 'challenge' for a total of $3,101,000 through Dec. 31, 2005, the end of the 'challenge' period. Additional contributions have "...pushed..." the total close to $4 million.
The new anonymous donor has 'challenged' the residents of the Coachella Valley to match its $3 million commitment to assist in raising $10 million to fund the fifth-floor of the New Hospital Building, which will be known as the "desert floor" of the hospital because of its desert theme. The floor will house the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, one of the nation's largest pediatric hematology/oncology programs, as well as a general medical-surgical unit.
The 460,000-square-foot New Hospital Building will be the finest medical and surgical environment for seriously ill and injured children anywhere in the United States when it opens in 2009, and it will be a model family-centered environment in which children and their families can heal and learn together. The New Hospital Building will also improve seismic performance to not only withstand a major earthquake, but also be fully operational after a major seismic event to meet the 2030 standard mandated by California law.
Children admitted to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles come from Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties - throughout California, the western part of the United States and around the world.
More than 400 of the sickest, most seriously injured children from the Coachella Valley and surrounding areas are treated at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles every year.
"Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is able to make a difference in the lives of children and their families because of the generosity of others," said Childrens Hospital Los Angeles CEO Richard D. Cordova.
"We are enormously grateful to the Berger Foundation for its ongoing commitment to our children and families, and to the residents of the Coachella Valley, who already have made substantial commitments to the New Hospital Building," he said. "Their generosity has 'set the stage' for this new anonymous 'challenge' to help us build what many believe will be the pre-eminent children's hospital of the future."
The Desert Campaign Leadership Committee, part of the New Hospital Building Campaign Committee, is working in the community to raise $10 million to fund the "desert floor" of the New Hospital building. The committee includes Douglas and Melissa Allensworth, of Indian Wells; David and Travis Erwin, of Indian Wells; Lea Goodsell, of Palm Desert; Ron and Jane Gother, of Indian Wells; Douglas and Donna Martin, of La Quinta; John and Carley Pinkney, of Palm Springs; Michael Smith, of Rancho Mirage; and Dick and Judy Zeigler, of Palm Desert.
The New Hospital Building Campaign Committee is chaired by Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart, a Big Horn resident, who is a member of the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Board of Trustees and Chris Albrecht, chairman and CEO of HBO, whose seriously-injured daughter was airlifted and treated at the hospital six years ago.
"These new facilities have been years in the making and represent the collective thought of doctors, nurses, patients and their parents, architects and many, many others who have brought their unique perspective to the task - to design facilities that will support the most advanced medical and surgical practice available, anywhere," said Mary Hart, whose son was successfully treated at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. "When we complete the construction, these facilities will enable us to meet our patient care responsibilities well into the future."
"There is enormous need for the expertise available at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles," Mr. Albrecht said. "Only if we support this remarkable place of hope and healing now can we ensure that the exceptional care for children we have come to depend on here in Los Angeles will be there when we need it most in the future."
The 460,000 square-foot New Hospital Building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles will include an Emergency Department; imaging facilities; a Cancer Day Hospital, an acute care Hematology/Oncology unit and a Bone Marrow Transplant unit; a Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit and an acute inpatient medical heart unit; a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit; and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which will house the Center for Newborn and Infant Critical Care. There will be additional medical and surgical acute care beds.
It will feature spacious private rooms, designed with three distinct areas: a clinical area that will house sophisticated medical equipment; a family area that will include space for parents to stay overnight; and a patient area that will feature lighting and designs to help make children feel at home. Semiprivate rooms will be available for children who can benefit from social contact, often so important for children with chronic disease.
"From the state-of-the-art facilities to healing gardens, the New Hospital Building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles will set the standard for medical care for years to come," Mary Hart said, adding that it will "...benefit the children of Greater Los Angeles, the Coachella Valley and the children of the world."
Among significant leadership gifts and grants for the New Hospital Building are those from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, Joyce and Stanley Black and Family, Bill and Helen Close and Family, The Ahmanson Foundation, The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, The Sharon D. Lund Foundation, The Harold McAlister Charitable Foundation, Jane Vruwink Palmer, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Phil and Monica Rosenthal, the John Stauffer Charitable Trust, the Weingart Foundation, the Associate and Affiliate groups and the members of the First Families Legacy Program.
Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been treating the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital is one of America's premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine for more than 73 years. It is a national leader in pediatric research.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles treats more than 58,000 patients a year in its Emergency Department. It admits more than 11,000 children a year to the hospital, with almost 50-percent of those admissions children under four years of age. There are more than 285,000 visits a year to its 29 outpatient clinics; more than 3,300 visits at community sites through its Division of Adolescent Medicine. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is able to offer the optimum in multidisciplinary care, with 33 pediatric subspecialties and dozens of special services for children and families.
Training programs at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles include 274 medical students, 84 full-time residents and 73 fellows, who collectively reflect the diversity of the patient population and the city of Los Angeles. Those who receive their instruction in pediatrics at Childrens Hospital care for children in the community, throughout the United States and in countries as far away as Japan, Australia, China, Turkey and Israel. The RN Internship Program in Pediatrics, a 22-week program that provides new nursing school graduates with a comprehensive guided clinical experience to prepare them for work in an acute care environment, has become a national model.
Investigators at The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles are working to create a world in which all children are healthy - a world in which they are no longer threatened by such diseases as cancer, congenital heart defects, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, epilepsy, immune deficiencies and respiratory disorders. They ask basic questions about human biology, find new ways to see inside the body, explore genetic mysteries, develop promising drug treatments and test preventive strategies - scientific inquiries that benefit both children and adults. The Saban Research Institute is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, with 100 investigators at work on 251 laboratory studies, clinical trials and community-based research and health services. It is one of the few freestanding research centers in the nation to combine scientific laboratory inquiry with patient clinical care - dedicated exclusively to children - and its base of knowledge is widely considered to be among the best in pediatric medicine.
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