The Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation and Miami Children’s Health System today announce a $60 million pledge to support the sustained growth and advancement of the health system’s acclaimed Miami-based children’s hospital. In recognition, Miami Children’s Hospital—the flagship of Miami Children’s Health System—and its network of outpatient centers will bear the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital name, effective in March of this year.
“The health and well-being of children have always been a primary focus for us," golf icon Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara said in a shared statement. "Miami Children's Hospital has been a wonderful partner. Our collaboration with Miami Children’s Health System in serving children in Palm Beach County has led us to seek additional opportunities to make a difference. We are proud and incredibly humbled by the decision to place our family name on the hospital. To us, there is no higher calling than to help children in need of medical care, hope and healing.”
Dr. Narendra Kini, President and CEO of Miami Children’s Health System, said, “Jack and Barbara Nicklaus—through their Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation—are exceptional philanthropists whose generosity is legendary. Today’s announcement marks the cornerstone of a legacy that will have an enduring impact on children and families for generations to come, supporting the hospital in its mission as a world-class pediatric acute-care hospital. It is only fitting that our flagship hospital and growing network of outpatient centers will bear the Nicklaus name and honor the family mission to impact children and families throughout South Florida."
Miami Children’s Hospital, which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, has a long and distinguished tradition of serving children. The 289-bed private, non-profit freestanding hospital receives children from throughout Florida, the U.S. and more than 75 countries. It is renowned for excellence in all pediatric specialties and has more pediatric programs ranked among “America’s Best” by U.S. News & World Report than any other hospital in Florida.
Miami Children's Health System also features a network of eight outpatient centers extending from southern Miami-Dade County to Palm Beach Gardens. Along with the hospital, these will also incorporate the Nicklaus name.
The $60 million pledge will make possible many enhancements for the hospital, including supporting construction of the planned 212,000-square-foot Advanced Pediatric Care Pavilion, now in progress. This new facility will include provisions for three new family-centered intensive care units. Funds will also support emergency and trauma preparedness, and enhance globally recognized centers for excellence at the hospital, including the Heart Program, Cancer Center and Miami Children’s Brain Institute.
Miami Children’s began collaborating with the Nicklaus Health Care Foundation in 2010, with the announcement of the creation of the Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus Care Center in western Palm Beach County, offering pediatric subspecialty consultations. In 2012, the two organizations celebrated the opening of the Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus Outpatient Center in Legacy Place in Palm Beach Gardens, which offers pediatric urgent care, rehabilitation services, imaging services and subspecialty appointments. In 2014, all Palm Beach County services were consolidated at the Palm Beach Gardens facility.
About the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation
Jack and Barbara Nicklaus founded the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation in 2004, in an effort to provide families access to world-class pediatric healthcare in their own communities. The Foundation has grown from a vision to reality, supporting innovative programs focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood illnesses. For more information about the Foundation, please visit nchcf.org
About Miami Children's Health Foundation
Miami Children’s Health Foundation (MCH Foundation) is a not-for profit 501(c)(3) established to create a world-class pediatric hospital so no child needs to leave South Florida for superior medical care. “Funding World-Class Care” and following the principle that all children deserve state-of-the-art pediatric care with no financial boundaries, MCH Foundation, now a part of the newly-formed Miami Children’s Health System, has helped the 289-bed Miami Children’s Hospital become a leader in pediatric healthcare with more than 40 subspecialties, the largest pediatric neurology center in the United States, a top provider of cardiology and neonatology services, and a Research Institute conducting in excess of 200 clinical trials and protocols. Currently, MCH Foundation is dedicating all its resources to Together For The Children, The Campaign for Miami Children’s Hospital, which aims to fund seven MCH priorities, including the expansion and enhancement of the Emergency Department, as well as the construction of a new Advanced Pediatric Care Pavilion, and expanding its Global/Telehealth endeavors.
About Miami Children’s Health System
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Miami Children's Hospital operates South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed nonprofit hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine and routinely has many programs ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report. The organization has grown and evolved into the Miami Children's Health System (MCHS) which includes Miami Children's Health Foundation, the organization's 501c3 fundraising arm; a network of eight nonprofit outpatient centers situated in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties; Pediatric Specialty Group, Inc., a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary; a management services organization, and an ambulatory surgery center (opening soon), as well as an e-commerce line of children's wellness and safety products that support the hospital's mission of serving the region’s pediatric population. MCHS is the region’s only healthcare system exclusively for children.