7/18/2008: Hall Family plans $11 million donation toward expansion

Contact: Jessica Salazar
Phone: (816) 346-1346
E-mail: jmsalazar@cmh.edu

Members of the Hall Family have announced plans for a donation of $11 million to Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. The contribution will come from the family's donor-advised funds at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

This substantial gift comes on the heels of a $43 million pledge from the Hall Family Foundation, which was established with money from Hallmark Cards founder Joyce C. Hall and his wife, Elizabeth. In all, the two pledges total $54 million.

The funds are to support Phase 1 of a 15-year, $800 million expansion plan unveiled in December, which will include additional doctors' offices, laboratories and outpatient services, currently housed in the Hall Family Outpatient Center.

"We are most grateful to Don and Adele Hall, their children and spouses and Barbara Hall Marshall for this generous gift," said Randall L. O'Donnell, PhD, president and CEO of Children's Mercy. "For nearly 40 years, the Hall family has shown its support to our pediatric medical center. This undertaking would not be possible without them, and the children will benefit greatly from the Hall family's generosity for years to come."

The $43 million Hall Family Foundation gift is one of the largest gifts ever bestowed to a children's hospital and the single largest gift in Children's Mercy's 110-year history.

"Children's Mercy and its patients have always had a place in our hearts," said Donald J. Hall. "More than 40 years ago, my wife, Adele, began volunteering in the Children's Mercy newborn intensive care nursery. Through experiences such as this, we have come to understand the importance of providing the very best care for the children who need it most.

"I know I speak for the rest of the family when I say how pleased we are to support Children's Mercy and how proud we are of the tremendous strides it has made to become one of the nation's premier children's hospitals."

Mrs. Hall is an emeritus member and former chair (1983-84) of the Children's Mercy Board of Directors and is a member of the Children's Mercy Foundation Board. Margaret Hall Pence is a current hospital board member and was chair in 2001-02.

The $11 million gift will be made over three years. Making donations to the gift are Don and Adele Hall, Keith and Margi Pence, Donald and Jill Hall and David and Laura Hall. Also contributing is Barbara Hall Marshall. All gifts are made with the concurrence of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

The planned expansion will more than double Children's Mercy's physical size and increase the number of inpatient beds by 50 percent. The expansion includes a new emergency room, six new operating rooms, new heart catheterization labs, new buildings for education, clinics and doctor's offices and an impressive new façade that will rise high above Hospital Hill.

About Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics is one of the country's premiere free-standing independent pediatric medical centers with 314 licensed beds, more than 40 pediatric subspecialty clinics, a Level III intensive care nursery and the only Level I pediatric trauma center between St. Louis and Denver. The medical staff of more than 400 pediatric subspecialists is one of the largest in the country and is actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric specialists.