UC San Francisco announced a second gift of $100 million from Lynne and Marc Benioff to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and also its affiliate, Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland.
The gift will be used to strengthen the existing talent and programs in basic and clinical research and patient care at the two premier institutions, as well as attract new expertise, in order to accelerate the development of innovative solutions for children’s health on both sides of the San Francisco Bay, as well as nationally and globally.
“We are thrilled to advance our vision of improving health of the children in Oakland and San Francisco, and to fuel positive changes in the care of our youngest patients today and for future generations,” said Dr. Sam Hawgood, interim chancellor of UCSF, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and a neonatologist. “This gift significantly strengthens the abilities of both institutions to attract and retain top talent in pediatric health, as well as to support the next evolution of research and clinical programs.”
In recognition of the two hospitals’ affiliation on Jan. 1, Children’s Hospital Oakland will be named UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital will be named UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. Together, the hospitals will be named UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals are two leading Bay Area children’s hospitals with longstanding commitments to public service. Both institutions, as well as UCSF Medical Center, care for all children who seek help, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, and provide millions of dollars of uncompensated care and community services for low-income, homeless and underinsured patients. From free children’s health screenings to staffing clinics, the hospitals help meet the needs of Northern California’s most vulnerable populations.
“The generosity and commitment of Marc and Lynne Benioff will strengthen Oakland’s thriving medical research community and ensure doctors on both sides of the Bay have world-class facilities to care for children, regardless of income,” said California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Building Healthy Communities on Both Sides of the Bay
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco will be part of a 289-bed integrated hospital complex for children, women and cancer patients that will open Feb. 1, 2015 at UCSF Mission Bay.
Construction of the new children’s hospital is on schedule and below budget. The 183-bed hospital increases the capacity of the current UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, located on the UCSF Parnassus campus, by 20 beds, and will feature a rooftop helipad to bring critically ill newborns, children and pregnant women to UCSF from community hospitals; a dedicated pediatric emergency room designed just for children, as well as private and semi-private rooms in the new intensive care nursery.
“We are building a world-class pediatric facility that puts the needs of our patients and their families at the forefront,” said Mark Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. “This donation ensures we can continue to advance the most innovative clinical care within the new hospital, as well as outside its walls by partnering with colleagues at our research campus and with Children’s Oakland physicians and staff.”
