Breaking New Ground at Lucile Packard Hospital

SPRING 2007 -- On May 2, 2007, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health launched an exciting initiative for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the pediatric programs at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Breaking New Ground, a five-year, $300 million campaign, will raise critical funding to address the new opportunities and needs facing Packard Children's and our community, including plans for a major expansion of the hospital to better serve children who need its care.

Thanks to generous donor support in recent years, Packard Children's has become an internationally recognized children's hospital. Yet, the hospital faces a critical shortage of beds as more children and families come to Packard for its expert care. With one of the best teams of pediatric specialists in the world, Packard and Stanford also will play a vital role in training the next generation of pediatric leaders and developing new treatments for childhood diseases.

Building more beds

Today, Packard Children's is serving far more patients than ever before. Unfortunately, the hospital has outgrown its current building. Last year alone, Packard had to refer more than 200 critically ill children to other care facilities because of a shortage of patient beds. In addition, as medical technology rapidly advances, more space and modern facilities are needed to host sophisticated equipment. 

In the coming years, Packard Children's plans to undergo a major expansion, eventually doubling in size so that no child in the community is turned away for lack of space. The construction will add more than 100 beds, including more individual patient rooms that provide privacy for family members to take part in their child's healing process. The new facilities will also house new surgical, diagnostic, and treatment rooms, as well as nursing and support offices. Like the original Packard building, the new addition will surround patients with a child-friendly environment in which to heal and grow.

To fund this major expansion, Packard Children's will draw on three sources: philanthropy, operating reserves, and bonds.  

Training the next generation

Children who are ill need the care of experts who understand their young patients' unique needs. Yet there is an acute shortage of pediatric specialists throughout the nation. With one of the best pediatric teams in the world today, Packard Children's, together with the Stanford School of Medicine, now has the capability--and the responsibility-- to shape the future of pediatric care.

Packard and Stanford aim to build the nation's most prestigious training program in the pediatric specialties by establishing endowed fellowships for talented individuals who, after medical school and residency training, want to pursue careers in areas such as pediatric oncology or pediatric cardiology. The program will fill the pipeline with the next generation of pediatric leaders who will ensure continued advances in children's health care. In order to recruit and retain the best young minds in pediatric specialties, Stanford also will establish faculty scholar awards to support the work of exceptional junior faculty.

Making discoveries, finding cures

Illnesses such as cancer, asthma, and diabetes pose serious threats to the well being of children and require ever more effective treatments. Packard's location at the center of a leading research university is an ideal environment for pediatric discovery, virtually unmatched at other academic medical centers or stand-alone children's hospitals. The integration of Packard Children's with Stanford University gives the best minds in pediatrics the opportunity to pursue promising scientific investigations and translate their discoveries quickly into life-saving care for sick children. 

Philanthropy that supports research is a crucial form of seed funding, which enables investigators to launch new initiatives and establish the initial results needed to pursue longer-term support. As government funding for research becomes scarcer each year, private donor investment will play an increasingly important role in enhancing the level of care available for all children.

Supporting everyday miracles

Each day at Packard Hospital, children with complex illnesses beat the odds and thrive in the face of incredible challenges. These miracles would not be possible without broad community support at all levels.

An important part of this Campaign is the ongoing generosity of donors who make annual contributions to the Lucile Packard Children's Fund. These donors help fund invaluable services not covered by insurance, including uncompensated care, new research, and community programs. 

Packard's seven volunteer-run auxiliaries operate businesses and stage annual benefit events that collectively raise funding for uncompensated care and other special projects. Additional support comes from annual contributions by auxiliary members, and from the Auxiliaries Endowment funded by unrestricted bequests to the hospital from auxiliary members and their families. 

Together, donors and volunteers help keep an open door for all children in our community who need the care of Packard Children's.

Campaign Co-Chairs

"Together we have
built a top children's hospital. Now we must ensure that our community's children have access to our care today, while we advance the level of care available to all children for years
to come."
-Susan Packard Orr

"Thanks to the world-class physicians and researchers recruited in recent years, Packard and Stanford are uniquely positioned to be the premier training ground for tomorrow's leaders
in pediatrics."
-Anne T. Bass

"Packard Children's is bursting at the seams. We're looking forward to a larger facility with the latest medical technology and family-centered care design, so we can provide the best care to all children who need it."
-Elizabeth Dunlevie