AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Children's Medical Center of Central Texas is pleased to announce a matching grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in the amount of $25 million. The matching grant specifies that the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will provide one dollar in matching funds for every two dollars collected in community donations.
In recognition of this very generous grant, the new facility will be named the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas.
"This grant -- one of the most significant grants ever awarded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the largest gift the SETON Healthcare Network has ever received -- is a catalyst for announcing our capital campaign to the Central Texas community," said Missy Wood, Executive Director of the Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas. "This will allow us to make enhancements, that before we could only dream of, become a reality."
The grant helps publicly kick off the Children's Medical Center Foundation's Imagine the Miracles capital campaign to support the construction of the new Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. To date, approximately $16 million has been raised. The estimated construction and outfitting cost of the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas is set at $175 million. With the $25 million Michael & Susan Dell Foundation matching grant, there is an opportunity for additional state-of-the-art technology, medical equipment and program enhancements to be added during the first phase of the project.
"Michael and I started our foundation to make a difference in the lives of underserved children. Our hope is that this matching grant will help make the highest quality of healthcare more accessible to all of the children in our area," said Susan Dell, Co-Founder of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. "This is a time for our community to come together and support the building of this state-of-the-art facility that will serve our current and future generations in Central Texas."
"One-hundred percent of this grant will go to the new facility, and it will solely be utilized by and for the children of Central Texas," said Charles Barnett, President and CEO, SETON Healthcare Network. "Through the generosity of the Dell's -- and others in our community -- our new facility will truly be a world-class medical center complete with the latest technological advancements serving the needs of all the children in Central Texas now and in the future."
The SETON Healthcare Network is building the new pediatric medical center to better accommodate the rapidly growing pediatric population of Central Texas. The Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas is scheduled to open in 2007 at its new home, on the former Robert Mueller Airport site in Austin. The 470,000-square-foot, 169-bed hospital, which will serve children in 46 counties, will replace the current Children's Hospital and will be three times larger than the existing facility. The project will also receive $125 million in support and financing from SETON's nonprofit national organization, Ascension Health.
"At Ascension Health, we are dedicated to providing a healthcare delivery system that offers the best possible care in a safe environment and ensures care for all, regardless of ability to pay," said Anthony R. Tersigni, President and CEO, Ascension Health. "The new Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas will help fulfill this mission. Children and their families in a 46-county region will be able to turn to the only non-profit medical facility in Central Texas dedicated to pediatric care. Further, these young patients will receive high quality, compassionate and comprehensive care, because they deserve nothing less."
For more information about the new Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas visit http://www.childrenshospital.com/buildingforthefuture .
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Based in Austin, Texas, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation was established in 1999 by the Dell family to help underserved children achieve their dreams and reach their full potential. The Foundation funds programs that foster active minds, healthy bodies and a safe environment where children can thrive. With an endowment of more than $1 billion, the foundation has provided more than $54 million to children's and community initiatives to date.
Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas
Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas is a member of the SETON Healthcare Network, a nonprofit healthcare organization that provides service at 20 locations in Central Texas. SETON is a member of Ascension Health, the largest nonprofit healthcare network in the United States with more than 100,000 employees at facilities in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas is the fundraising arm of the new medical center. The Imagine the Miracles Capital Campaign is a $75 million campaign to support the building of the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. Since January 2004, a total of $16 million has been pledged.
Some of the lead donors in the Capital Campaign include The Topfer Family Foundation and family members -- $3.2 million; Austin Chapter of Credit Unions -- $2.5 million; Children's Medical Center Council -- $2.5 million; H-E-B -- $1 million; Children's Hospital Auxiliary -- $1 million; other major donors giving $500,000 each include Lowe Foundation, Alex and Kim Smith Family Foundation, The Gardner Foundation, and three anonymous donors with gifts totaling $3.5 million; Children's Medical Center Foundation Circle of Friends Chapters -- $495,000; Capitol Anesthesiology Association -- $350,000, Burdine Johnson Foundation -- $300,000. For more information on the campaign or a complete list of donors to date, contact Judy Waxman, Senior Director of Development and Campaign Director, Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas.
Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central TexasCONTACT: Pam Crowther of SETON Healthcare Network, +1-512-324-3170, orpager, +1-512-849-5573, or pcrowther@seton.org ; or Matt Motley,+1-972-830-2815, or mobile, +1-214-395-0755, or mmotley@webershandwick.com ,for Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
