Celebrating a Successful Fundraising Campaign — Thanks to You!
Dear Hinsdale Hospital Foundation Friends:
Thanks to your generosity and support, the Hinsdale Hospital Foundation recently surpassed its fundraising goal of $5 million for the creation of a world-class Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital.
Expected to open fully this summer, the new NICU will feature state-of-theart technology for treating the tiniest and sickest babies, as well as comfortable private rooms where parents can stay with their newborns and consult with the NICU’s medical experts.
This is a remarkable achievement that would not have been possible without the extraordinary passion, commitment and perseverance of the Hinsdale community, our Foundation board and staff, our NICU experts and our hospital leaders.
The Foundation launched the NICU campaign in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We initially envisioned a project timeline of two to three years, beginning with fundraising activities and continuing with the renovation of our existing NICU. When the pandemic scrambled our plans, you were undeterred. Driven by a strong belief in the importance of the new NICU to the community, you kept the campaign alive despite the pandemic, helping us secure major multi-year pledges from individuals as well as large, multi-year grants from family foundations and other foundations.
Although the campaign took longer than originally expected, your willingness to donate your time,
energy and resources to the NICU cause propelled us across the finish line. We are deeply grateful to all of you for your dedication to making our new NICU a reality.
We also are grateful to the community members, including members of our board and their families, who gave so much of themselves to ensure the campaign’s success. And we are grateful to the NICU experts and hospital leaders who consistently took time away from their busy schedules to speak to our supporters about the new NICU and its expected impact.
I also want to thank Foundation leaders Meghan Moreno and Diane Morgan, whose expertise has been invaluable throughout the campaign, as well as Jay Pollitt and Karen Fiascone, who preceded me as board chairpersons. Jay and Karen led us through the most challenging days of the campaign, leaving me the relatively easy task of wrapping it up.
I am looking forward to celebrating the NICU’s grand opening with you this summer. The Foundation will be back in touch with more information about this event in the weeks ahead. For now, please know that we appreciate the unwavering support you have provided throughout our fundraising campaign. It will make a world of difference for the babies and parents served by our NICU while taking to new heights the top-notch healthcare services our hospital provides to the community.
With gratitude and warmest regards,
Matt McGuire Chairperson Hinsdale Hospital Foundation
Community Support Drives NICU Fundraising Success
Hinsdale is a place where many families have deep roots.
“I’m a fourth-generation Hinsdalean, and that’s not uncommon,” said Karen Fiascone, a member of the Hinsdale Hospital Foundation Board of Directors who served as its chairperson from 2022 to 2024. “That says a lot about what a lovely and welcoming community it is.”
Through the years, the community always has strongly supported the hospital, recognizing “it’s important to have world-class medical care in your own backyard,” Fiascone said. That awareness, she added, was a key factor in the success of the Foundation’s recently completed fundraising campaign to transform the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) into a state-of-the-art facility.
The community joined forces with the Foundation’s board and staff and hospital and NICU leaders to surpass the original fundraising goal of $5 million, overcoming challenges presented along the way by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fiascone said the collaborative effort has paved the way for a NICU featuring the latest technology and private rooms, where parents can stay with their newborns and consult with the NICU’s medical experts.
“I just want to send a big thank you to the community,” Fiascone said. “They really showed up in this NICU campaign. They showed up for our hospital, and they showed up for the babies of the future.”
Karen Fiascone
The Hinsdale Hospital Foundation team stands near the new NICU space. Pictured left to right are: Meghan Moreno, VP, Midwest Health Foundation, NICU nurse Abby Bugari, board members Karen Fiascone, Matt McGuire and Jay Pollitt, NICU/Pediatric Manager Ally Ward, Foundation Executive Director Diane Morgan and NICU nurses Kristina Vaughn and Mia Labarbera.
‘Everybody Stepped Up’
It took a strong team effort under challenging circumstances to exceed the Hinsdale Hospital Foundation’s $5 million fundraising goal for the renovation of the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), said Jay Pollitt, who was chairperson of the Foundation’s Board of Directors when the campaign began in early 2020.
The campaign, he recalled, quickly ran into headwinds because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It seemed like a big undertaking, but everybody stepped up, and it worked out very well,” said Pollitt, who served as chairperson from 2020 to 2022.
He thanked community members, the Foundation’s board and staff, and leaders of the hospital and NICU for pulling together to bring the campaign across the finish line successfully.
“Hinsdale has lots of children, and the community recognizes the importance of having a local hospital with excellent services for kids,” said Pollitt, who grew up in Hinsdale and has lived in the community for the last 20 years. “The NICU campaign resonated well with the community because people know the quality of care at the hospital has never been higher and will be even better with the new NICU.” He added: “We have a pretty special place here in Hinsdale, and I feel very fortunate I had the opportunity
Thank You, Hinsdale!
Jay Pollitt