NYU Langone Medical Center Announces $50M Gift to Create New Children’s Hospital

NEW YORK, N.Y. — NYU Langone Medical Center and the Hassenfeld family unveiled a $50 million gift that will create a comprehensive pediatric hospital at NYU Langone Medical Center. The gift, led by longtime NYU Langone Medical Center trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld, spans three generations and underscores the family’s belief in both giving back and to children.

“This is a momentous occasion for our medical center and New York’s children, and we are truly thankful to Sylvia Hassenfeld and her family for their longstanding commitment, dedication and generosity,” said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center. “Their extraordinary gift to create the Hassenfeld Pediatric Center begins a new era of children’s health care in New York and helps ensure bright futures for countless children, our most precious patients, and their families.”

The announcement was recently made during a festive celebration at the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum with more than 1,000 children, parents and grandparents in attendance, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Barbara Walters, who served as the mistress of ceremonies at the family-friendly event.

“We’ve made enormous strides over the last ten years in improving comprehensive health services that will help more of our children enjoy successful, fulfilling lives,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “With the generous help of the Hassenfeld family, NYU Langone Medical Center will create a state-of-the-art pediatric facility that makes a difference in the lives of those we care about most.”

The gift will help create the Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a new 160,000 square foot state-of-the-art pediatric hospital on the medical center’s main campus on the east side of Manhattan. Integral to the design of the pediatric hospital will be all private rooms, making it the only pediatric inpatient facility in Manhattan to have this feature. Private rooms increase patient safety by decreasing exposure to infections, as well as serve to provide a private, supportive environment for the patients and their families. In addition, the new center will boast:

* A separate, dedicated Hassenfeld Pediatric Center entrance on 34th Street and 1st Avenue, featuring a child-friendly lobby;
* Child-friendly pre-operative unit consisting of private, pre-op preparation and recovery bays, with space for family at the bedside, along with pediatric ORs, a catheterization lab and two procedure rooms;
* Dedicated acute pediatric inpatient and pediatric critical-care units. All 68 private rooms will have their own en suite bathrooms, as well as include a “family zone” featuring a sleep-in couch, storage and web access;
* A Family Center for orientation activities for patients, space for child-life activities and performances, as well as support, education and respite services for families.

The Hassenfelds’ devotion to children, particularly those most vulnerable, is a family tradition. It stems from the four-generation family commitment to community philanthropy, healthcare and its business, Hasbro, Inc., the world’s second-largest toy company.

“The well being of children is one of our great passions,” said Sylvia Hassenfeld. “The first toys Hasbro made were doctor and nurse kits. I like to think that, with those, we inspired some youngsters who are now practicing pediatric medicine at NYU Langone. This gift is special to me, and to my family as it ensures our commitment to children’s health and well being for generations to come.”

Sylvia Hassenfeld, her children, Alan Hassenfeld and Ellen Hassenfeld Block, and her grandchildren, Susan Block Casdin, Laurie Block, and Michael Block have been deeply involved with NYU Langone for many years. The family has funded and continues to support NYU Langone’s Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. In addition, Susan Block Casdin founded the Hassenfeld Committee, which is instrumental in raising funds to support critical psycho-social support services at the Hassenfeld Center and the Department of Pediatrics.

The gift also supports the full array of children’s health services across the medical center. Neonates, children, adolescents and young adults receive the most comprehensive and advanced care by a team of pediatricians and pediatric specialists across more than 30 pediatric medical and surgical disciplines ranging from cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery to hematology and oncology to reconstructive plastic surgery and urology. With more than 150 full-time pediatric specialists, as well as pediatric nurses, child life specialists, and social workers, NYU Langone is uniquely equipped to provide innovative subspecialty care in a highly personalized manner.

The facility will be located within the new Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion, scheduled to open in late 2017.

About NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one on the nation’s premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of three hospitals — Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world’s first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine; and the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology — plus the NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center’s tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to www.NYULMC.org.

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