Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart

Years

Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart

Within our reach, within your hands — celebrating a half-century

It was a celebration 50 years in the making! The opening of the new Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart on April 1, 2019, ushered in a yearlong celebration of the Children’s Hospital. It concluded in November with a black-tie gala, where 300 guests joyously celebrated history, accomplishments, a half-century of vision and the promise of a bright future.

Will Condon, President of the Children’s Hospital, and Carol Carlan, President of the Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation, shared the story of the Hospital’s founding and the vision that made it a reality. They spoke of the vision in 2015 that transformed plans for an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit into a four-story, state-ofthe-art hospital. The Gala celebrated the completion of the first phase of our capital campaign, Within Our Reach, Within Your Hands. This five-year effort was one of the largest in the history of Pensacola. It exceeded its goal, raising more than $30 million of the $85 million cost of the new Hospital. Specially saluted during the evening were the more than 12,000 campaign donors whose gifts ranged from $1 to $5 million — proving how much every gift matters, regardless of size, and that together, we can do great things.

Most importantly, they shared the vision for the future. It begins with the creation of a specialized pediatric surgical suite and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit fully funded by Ascension. The $4 million campaign for the Bear Family Foundation Pediatric Oncology Center for Hope was announced. When it opens in Spring 2021, this specialized unit will provide the highest level of care for our youngest, most vulnerable cancer patients.

In an evening full of highlights, one of special significance was the introduction of Dawn Rudolph, the new President and CEO of Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola, who had come to Pensacola in October. She shared some of her plans for the coming years and mingled with the guests throughout the evening as the event was capped off with dancing to the sounds of the Bay Bridge Band.