Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Receives $3 Million Gift for New Neuroscience Center
Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minn., (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota announced today that it has received a $3 million gift from George and Karen Benz, now Arizona residents, to complete the hospital’s new neuroscience center. In recognition of this lead gift, the state-of-the-art pediatric neuroscience center will be named the Karen and George Benz Family Pediatric Neuroscience Center when it opens in St. Paul later this year.
Over the past seven years Children’s has renovated and expanded its St. Paul hospital campus, and invested more than $70 million in capital improvements alone, while also raising nearly $18 million for additional capital upgrades. The Benz’s donation is the largest single capital gift Children’s-St. Paul has received from a private family during this campaign. For 2013, Children’s has set a goal of raising another $4.4 million for St. Paul capital improvements.
The Karen and George Benz Family Pediatric Neuroscience Center will be a nationally recognized center of excellence. It will bring Children’s expertise together under one roof so that children with brain injuries and other neurological illnesses can benefit from the seamless and integrated care needed to treat these complex disorders.
“The Benz family has a deep commitment to Children’s and to this community. Their passion for ensuring that children in Minnesota have access to the most advanced treatment and therapies is astounding,” said Theresa Pesch, president, Children’s Foundation. “We’re extremely grateful for their generosity and for their dedication to making kids’ health a top priority in our community.”
The Benzes are longtime supporters of Children’s. When both of their sons spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit more than 30 years ago, Karen and George saw first-hand the high-quality care, commitment and dedication of the staff.
“We credit Children’s for saving both of our sons’ lives,” said Karen Benz. “We also see Children’s as the community’s hospital. As a parent, children are what make us great, and through this gift we want to make a lasting impact in this community. We can do that by making sure all kids in Minnesota and the region have access to the best medical resources.“
Recognizing the increase in traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors and premature births, which can lead to neurological impairments, the Benzes understood the need for advancing pediatric neuroscience care. They chose to fund the future neuroscience center recognizing these trends and how the new center will advance practices through specialized, comprehensive and coordinated care from world-class neurologists and neurosurgeons.
“We lived in the St. Paul area for more than 40 years and we know there is no better place than Children’s to care for the kids in our community,” said George Benz. “I’m confident that our gift will enable Children’s to secure the latest technology, attract the best doctors and to bring a new neuroscience center to Minnesota that will be of national stature.”
The Karen and George Benz Family Pediatric Neuroscience Center will bring health professionals who are currently located across multiple locations into one central location. It will feature private patient rooms, a children’s play area, private consultation rooms and new neuroscience labs and treatment spaces. It is scheduled to open later this year. The new center will be located on the fifth floor of the Sky Tower building at Children’s – St. Paul, located at 345 N. Smith Ave. in St. Paul.
About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota:
Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health care organizations in the United States, with 381 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 12,000 inpatient visits and more than 300,000 emergency room and other outpatient clinic visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Please visit childrensMN.org.
Justin Theodotou, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, http://childrensMN.org, +1 612-813-6626, [email protected]
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