History of Packard Children's Hospital

Lucile Salter Packard

More than 70 years ago, a Stanford undergraduate named Lucile Salter began volunteering at the Stanford Home for Convalescent Children, a first step in her lifelong devotion to the cause of children's health. Over the years, Lucile Salter Packard continued her involvement with the "Con Home," up through its evolution into the Children's Hospital at Stanford.

Mrs. Packard became the driving force behind building a new and comprehensive children's hospital. She and her husband, David, made a cornerstone grant of $40 million to launch construction. She was determined that the new building would meet the unique needs of children. The Hospital would care for all children of the community, regardless of their families' financial circumstances.

Since Lucile Packard Children's Hospital opened in 1991, it has treated hundreds of thousands of children, and, in affiliation with the Stanford School of Medicine, developed treatments and cures that have changed the face of pediatric medicine. It is a thriving community institution that continues to symbolize Mrs. Packard's commitment to the care of children.

Important Milestones

Patients at the Stanford Home for Convalescent Children.

1917: Campus Auxiliary volunteers of the San Francisco-based Stanford Clinics begin a summer convalescent program in Palo Alto for children with polio and tuberculosis.

1920: The Stanford Home for Convalescent Children, a permanent, year-round facility, opens in a part of the old Stanford family home that was spared by the 1906 earthquake. University trustees leased the mansion and 27 surrounding acres to the Convalescent Home for one dollar a year, and public contributions also helped foot the bill for the "Con Home," as it became known.

1959: Stanford Medical Center relocates from San Francisco to Palo Alto, moving into a 420-bed facility.

1969: The $5 million, 60-bed Children's Hospital at Stanford opens, replacing the Con Home. The new hospital remains a separate entity from Stanford Hospital.

1986: Lucile and David Packard pledge $70 million for a new children's hospital at Stanford.

1991: Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, a $100 million, 143-bed facility, is dedicated on April 14. The Hospital opens for patients in June.