Largest gift ever made to Children’s will help enhance care for children throughout the Upper Midwest
MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Children’s Foundation announced it has received a $17.5 million philanthropic gift from Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare – the largest single gift the foundation has ever received.
This gift will enhance trauma care for children across the region by supporting the creation of a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota’s (Children’s) Minneapolis campus. It also will fund a significant part of the newly expanded “UnitedHealthcare Pediatric Emergency Department at Children’s” in Minneapolis.
“Trauma is the leading cause of death and disability in children, and research shows that pediatric trauma patients have better outcomes when treated at children’s hospitals,” said Alan L. Goldbloom, M.D., president and CEO of Children’s of Minnesota. “UnitedHealthcare’s generous gift supports our ongoing expansion plan to ensure 24-hour availability of the specialized trauma care our children deserve.”
“We chose Children’s Hospitals for the largest single contribution UnitedHealthcare has ever made because they are saving children’s lives,” said Richard Migliori, M.D., executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group. “As a member of the Twin Cities community and an advocate for sustainable health improvements nationwide, we recognize the significant need for specialized pediatric trauma research, treatment and prevention efforts. We believe Children’s is uniquely positioned to make measurable progress on these fronts to deliver enhanced care to thousands of children throughout the region.”
Upon achieving American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) Level I verification, Children’s will be a premier site for the evaluation, treatment and expert care of children with severe and life-threatening injuries. A Level I Pediatric Trauma Center at Children’s Minneapolis campus also will serve as a catalyst for much-needed pediatric trauma research on a national scale as well as new trauma prevention efforts in the Upper Midwest.
UnitedHealthcare’s $17.5 million contribution to Children’s Foundation is UnitedHealthcare’s largest gift ever in support of a hospital. It is part of the organization’s “United Minnesota” initiative, a 10-year, $100 million philanthropic program designed to create sustainable improvements in health, education and well-being in Minnesota.
Children’s will immediately begin using UnitedHealthcare’s gift to help it fulfill the requirements necessary to achieve ACS COT Level I Pediatric Trauma Center verification for its Minneapolis facility. Key requirements include:
- recruiting additional pediatric specialists in areas such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and anesthesia;
- expanding training and education opportunities for pediatric specialists and EMS personnel in the five-state region through Continuing Medical Education (CME) offerings and three annual conferences;
- developing injury-prevention public-education programs.
The gift also will fund a significant part of the Minneapolis-based UnitedHealthcare Pediatric Emergency Department at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Key features include:
- a new ambulance bay with 100-percent increased capacity compared with the old facility;
- state-of-the-art expanded trauma space with capacity for two additional trauma bays;
- a new triage area for faster turnaround and patient attention;
- four new procedure rooms – an increase of 50 percent compared with the old facility;
- additional patient-treatment rooms;
- new safe rooms for patients experiencing mental health crises;
- a new communications dispatch center.
To take an online virtual tour of the UnitedHealthcare Pediatric Emergency Department at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, visit www.UnitedAroundChildren.org.
About Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
Serving as Minnesota’s children’s hospital since 1924, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota has 332 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children’s of Minnesota provides care through more than 14,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient visits every year. Children’s is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. For more information, visit www.childrensmn.org.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of approximately 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with more than 600,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
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CONTACT:
Brian Lucas
Children’s Foundation
612-813-6615
[email protected]
or
Tyler Mason
UnitedHealthcare
714-226-3530
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America Minnesota
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Hospitals Philanthropy Children Consumer Family Foundation
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