Seattle Children’s Hospital probably has more fun than most hospitals every year on Halloween, but this year it has something really big to celebrate.
The hospital said today it has secured a pair of charitable donations worth a combined $65 million to support its research programs, nursing education, and clinical care. One $50 million gift is coming for research from an anonymous donor, while the other $15 million donation was made by Jean Reid of Bellevue, WA to support nursing education and clinical care.
The $50 million anonymous donation—the largest in Children’s history—will be used to provide an endowment for research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. It will go toward critical infrastructure, recruiting and retaining top scientists, and investments in treatments for early stage treatments for childhood diseases, the hospital said.
Seattle Children’s established its research institute in 2006, and currently occupies the life sciences building at 9th and Stewart that was originally built for Seattle-based Corixa. One of the more visible projects at the hospital is a low-cost ventilator for premature infants that is being developed by a team led by Seattle Children’s CEO Tom Hansen, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Seattle Children’s got nearly $53 million in federal grants to support its research in 2010, according to its website.
