A $36 million donation to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to improve youth mental health is the largest gift in the hospital system's 137-year history, officials there say.
Most of the donation from the Convalescent Hospital for Children to the region's largest hospital system will be used to build a new facility at the hospital's College Hill location. That $90 million inpatient center will require another $30 million in fundraising and $30 million in operating revenue to build, hospital officials say. Meanwhile, $6 million of the donation from the Convalescent Hospital will go to expand existing mental health programs.
Cincinnati Children's is already the largest provider of inpatient mental health services among children's hospitals nationally. The hospital served more than 4,000 children on an inpatient basis last year at its College Hill campus.
“Mental illness is one of the most pressing health issues of our time,” Cincinnati Children’s CEO Michael Fisher said in a statement. “We are extremely grateful for this generous gift. With this, we will be better equipped to meet the growing mental health care needs of youth in our area and will continue our leadership in the field.”
The Convalescent Hospital, founded in 1833, is no longer a physical hospital but lives on as a fundraising affiliate of Children's Hospital operated by a volunteer board. The organization donated $20 million to Children's in 2014 for the creation of a residential facility at Children's College Hill campus — at the time, the largest single donation the hospital system had received.
"Since inception, the mission and focus of Convalescent Hospital for Children has been that all families with children struggling with long-term chronic illnesses and the challenges of mental health have access to the very best in medical care available," Convalescent Hospital for Children President Susan Shelton said. "These children and their families have become our particular focus and passion because too often they have no place to turn for the understanding, help and support so desperately needed."
