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Phil and Penny Knight publicly committed $1.1 billion to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and Providence Heart Institute Tuesday, among the largest gifts in the history of American health care.
Providence says the donation will lead to the construction of the state’s first hospital dedicated to women’s health, and also support “pioneering cardiovascular treatments.”
“Today’s gift marks a significant and transformational milestone for Providence and healthcare in the greater Northwest,” said Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence Health & Services, in a written statement.
The commitment comes just over a year after the Knights, who made their fortune from Nike, pledged $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute.
The $1.1 billion sum nearly mirrors an entire year’s operating expenditures at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, one of the state’s largest hospitals and also its first, dating the the 19th century. (It has moved from its initial Northwest Portland location).
Providence says the hospital for women will be a new structure on the St. Vincent Medical Center grounds, though its bed size remains undetermined.
According to hospital CEO Dr. Ray Moreno, the hospital delivers more babies than any other in the state. Providence says the idea is to give patients access to more coordinated care, including gynecology, pregnancy, labor and delivery, menopause and cardiovascular care, along with other specialties.
Providence says the new womens hospital will support “hundreds” new clinical and non-clinical positions. It will also feature a modernized neonatal intensive care unit, the health system says, which will offer the same level of care as its current one. (Randall and Doernbecher Children’s Hospitals have NICU’s with the highest level of care; OHSU has been seeking money to renovate Doernbecher’s.)
The other major prong of the windfall is supposed to help the Providence Heart Institute expand complex cardiovascular care, “including heart transplantation, research, innovation and the recruitment of top talent.” Providence’s news release notes that cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and hospitalization in the United States for both men and women.
It says the Providence Heart Institute sees close to 63,000 patients annually from across the Pacific Northwest, an increase in 23,000 patients from ten years ago. And as the state’s population ages, it says, the demand for complex cardiac treatments will accelerate.
The funds are set to be distributed over a ten-year span, says Providence spokesperson Lisa Helderop. Asked about the timeline for the new hospital building, she said “We hope to break ground in the next couple of years.”
