UR Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital now sits as the flagship of a growing network of such medical centers.
There were four — also including Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, the soon-to-be-renamed John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, which is soon to take the Golisano name, and one in Florida.
Now there are 10. And more are coming.
Billionaire philanthropist and namesake Tom Golisano announced Tuesday that he has committed $253 million to six hospitals across the Northeast.
“We'll probably be targeting about 40 hospitals across the country,” Golisano said.
Work to vet and add additional hospitals in the South should begin after the first of the year. The push then heads west, he said.
The latest donations push Golisano’s total lifetime giving to more than $1 billion. Nearly half of that giving — a combined $445 million — came last year in a flurry of donations to nonprofits in New York and in Florida, where he now lives.
His children's hospital pledges will be paid out over five years, he said, and there are no restrictions on how the money gets spent.
Those receiving first-time gifts are:
- Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford ($50 million).
- Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey ($50 million).
- University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital in Lexington ($50 million).
- University of Maryland Children’s Hospital in Baltimore ($50 million).
- University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington ($25 million).
- West Virginia University Children’s Hospital in Morgantown ($28 million).
In August, he gave $50 million to the Buffalo children's hospital operated by Kaleida Health.
The hospitals will continue to operate independently. But hospital officials say the alliance makes possible greater collaboration for sharing of best practices, rapid deployment of successful new treatments, shared expertise and research across specialties, benefiting patients as well as health care workers and medical students training in those facilities.
“Can you imagine having this across state lines?” asked Dr. Scottie Day, physician in chief at the Kentucky children’s hospital, which has been one of the fastest growing in the nation and is currently expanding. “Have you looked at a map and seen the organizations that are going to be touched by this today?
"It's unimaginable. And it goes beyond that,” he said, speaking to Golisano directly, who took a seat in the front row during the news conference at the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in Brighton. “Think about this. So, my rough estimate, with these announcements, you are making an investment in two and a half million children."
Golisano was emotional at times, speaking about the families he has heard from whose children have been treated at Golisano hospitals, and the legacy he hopes to leave. He turns 84 next month, and insists he is in fine health.
“I look ahead, I see a future where the Golisano Children's Alliance continues to grow, where more hospitals join us, more children get care close to home, and more families find hope when they need it most,” he said. “Together, we're building something that will last long beyond any of us — a legacy for generations to come.”
The first Golisano Children’ Hospital is here in Rochester, and grew out of a $14 million gift he made in 2002, to expand Strong Memorial Hospital’s pediatric critical care unit and recruit faculty to the University of Rochester Medical Center. While continuing to operate under Strong, the hospital within a hospital became its own facility a decade later when Golisano committed $20 million to the cause.
“Since opening our new hospital, we've cared for tens of thousands of children each year, performed thousands of surgeries and welcomed more than 12,000 newborns into our neonatal intensive care unit,” said Dr. Jill Halterman, the hospital’s physician in chief. “We've grown to more than 600 faculty, expanded our specialized programs ... and as our hospital grew, so did our understanding of the evolving needs of children and families.”
With these six hospitals, the Golisano Foundation sought out and visited the facilities, looking for mid-sized centers that did not already have naming rights secured. Then a representative from each hospital came to Rochester for a short interview.
“It was actually quite astounding,” Golisano said. “Because the idea of the alliance is very, very important to the hospitals — more so than I ever thought.”
