The Burlington children’s hospital within the University of Vermont Medical Center will change its name and join a nationwide alliance of pediatric hospitals after receiving a $25 million gift.
Billionaire Thomas Golisano announced the gift on Tuesday morning at a press conference in Rochester, New York, along with similar pledges to five other children’s hospitals that together total $253 million.
The donation, to be paid out in $5 million increments over five years, is the largest that the state’s only pediatric hospital has received to date. As part of the donation, the UVM Children’s Hospital will officially change its name to Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health.
The children’s hospital will put the money toward hiring more staff and expanding the number of children it can serve in its complex care program, which is designed for patients with unique health needs and overlapping diagnoses, UVM Health spokesperson Annie Mackin said.
The gifted funds will also go toward broadening subspecialty services outside of Burlington to reduce patient travel time and will be invested in the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, a public health effort also called V-CHIP, out of UVM’s medical school, she added.
The donation comes at a time when hospitals in Vermont have been facing severe solvency crises, with several hospitals having limited days’ cash on hand, and as many individuals in Vermont stare down commercial insurance premium prices that have doubled and tripled, beyond the realm of affordability for many. University of Vermont Medical Center’s operating profit margins and reserves are healthier than those of the state’s other general service hospitals.
Golisano built his fortune through Paychex, the payroll company he founded. Forbes estimates his net worth at $6 billion. He is a native of Rochester, New York, and has a history of philanthropy with the University of Rochester Children’s Hospital.
The UVM Health children’s hospital will join the Golisano Hospital Alliance, a consortium of the children’s hospitals that have received donations from Golisano. The group includes hospitals in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
