The PNC Foundation has committed $1 million to enhance the quality of care provided at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
The gift will support the construction of a new, five-story, freestanding children’s hospital, along with creation of the PNC Learning Wall inside the facility. As the most striking visual element of the first floor, the wall will guide all visitors and patients into the hospital and offer opportunities for families to reconnect with the natural world even as they enter the medical setting.
“Once again, PNC has contributed generously to our efforts to offer quality care at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital,” said Penn State President Graham B. Spanier. “We are deeply grateful for their continuing commitment.”
Harold L. Paz, M.D., Medical Center chief executive officer, Penn State’s senior vice president for health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine, said that “the PNC Learning Wall will play a vital role in creating a comforting, child- and family-friendly environment within the Children’s Hospital. Thanks to the generosity of PNC, even the sickest children will have unique opportunities to play and to learn—in other words, to simply be kids.”
Dennis P. Brenckle, regional president, PNC Bank, Central Pennsylvania region, noted that “by supporting this world-class hospital to serve the children and families of central Pennsylvania, PNC and other companies can help enhance the quality of life in our region.”
Brenckle, who also serves as volunteer chair of the Penn State College of Medicine’s component of the University-wide capital campaign committee, added, “We view the PNC Learning Wall at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital as an excellent extension of the educational assets we supported in establishing the PNC Child and Family Resource Center five years ago.”
The wall will run the entire length of the first floor corridor connecting the entrance area and the rear café, courtyard, and performing arts space. The structure will use glass and light to create a layered visual impact, with four dominant images representing the changing seasons in central Pennsylvania.
Over the years, the PNC Foundation has supported the development of education and facilities at Penn State campuses statewide through endowed scholarships and other contributions. The foundation made a $1 million grant in 2006 to the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital to create the PNC Child and Family Resource Center, designated funds to construct the College of Medicine’s Biomedical Research Building and the Interfaith Chapel, and established scholarships in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in central Pennsylvania. Physicians and nurses at the hospital provide comprehensive support and specialized care to infants, children, and adolescents every day. With a focus on providing first-rate health care to children with complex heart disease and childhood cancers, the Children’s Hospital allows patients to receive the highest quality of care close to their homes.
The Children’s Hospital includes the highest level neonatal intensive care unit, a leading pediatric intensive care unit and the only pediatric trauma center in the region. For more information, visit www.pennstatehershey.org/childrens.
