{"id":339966,"date":"2025-10-29T04:46:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T04:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/339966\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T04:46:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T04:46:18","slug":"philanthropist-commits-50-million-to-connecticut-childrens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/339966\/","title":{"rendered":"Philanthropist commits $50 million to Connecticut Children’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Golisano announced Tuesday that Connecticut Children\u2019s Medical Center<\/a> will join the newly formed Golisano Children\u2019s Alliance<\/a> with a $50 million investment in the Hartford center.<\/p>\n

Golisano, known as the founder of Paychex, Inc., has donated more than a $1 billion to organizations that support health care, education and inclusion. Connecticut Children\u2019s is one of 10 hospitals to join the Golisano Children\u2019s Alliance, which will operate collaboratively but independently.<\/p>\n

The hospital will be renamed Golisano Medical Center at Connecticut Children\u2019s. It is the single largest gift in the health system\u2019s history, officials said.<\/p>\n

The alliance also includes Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Upstate Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital at SUNY Upstate Medical University,\u00a0Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital of Lee Health,\u00a0John R. Oishei Children\u2019s Hospital,\u00a0Penn State Health Children\u2019s Hospital,\u00a0University of Kentucky Children\u2019s Hospital, University of Maryland Children\u2019s Hospital,\u00a0University of Vermont Children\u2019s Hospital and WVU Medicine Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

\"Paychex<\/p>\n

The hospitals \u201cwill continue to operate independently, share research, training and best practices, and advocate together for stronger pediatric health care across the country,\u201d Golisano said in the announcement Tuesday morning from the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in Rochester, NY.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe alliance is not about creating another organization. It\u2019s about connection. The goal is to build a nationally recognized network of children\u2019s hospitals that exemplifies excellence dignity and innovation in pediatric health care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I look ahead, I see a future where the Golisano Children\u2019s Alliance continues to grow, more hospitals join us, more children get care close to home and more families find hope when they need it most. Together we\u2019re building something that will last long beyond any of us, a legacy for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe walkway over Washington Street connects the new parking garage to the Connecticut Children\u2019s main entrance on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, as construction continues ahead of the Dec. 4 ribbon cutting. (Aaron Flaum\/Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

Connecticut Children\u2019s called it \u201ca transformational investment \u2014 the single largest in the health system\u2019s history,\u201d and said the funding \u201cwill expand pediatric access, advance family-centered care, and strengthen Connecticut Children\u2019s ability to bring specialists, technology, research and Child Life services closer to home for every child across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis extraordinary gift from Tom Golisano ensures that children in every corner of our state have access to the highest level of pediatric care,\u201d said Jim Shmerling, DHA, FACHE, president & CEO of Connecticut Children\u2019s. \u201cIt represents a defining moment for our organization, for our patients, and for Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first children\u2019s hospital Golisano invested in was at the University of Rochester. Dr. Jill Halterman, chair of pediatrics and physician-in-chief for Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital at Rochester, described his impact Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a true honor to be here today as we celebrate a remarkable milestone in philanthropy and a new chapter for children\u2019s health,\u201d she said, thanking the Golisano Foundation \u201cand especially Tom, for your vision, your generosity and your unwavering belief that every child deserves the chance to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

University of Rochester became the first Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital more than 20 years ago following Golisano\u2019s investment that took UR\u2019s children\u2019s department from a single floor in the adult hospital to the now eight-story Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital tower.<\/p>\n

That gift sparked a culture of possibility and imitation of Golisano\u2019s courage, generosity and commitment to innovation, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday the Golisano name expands to hospitals across the country. That same vision is going to take root in new places,\u201d Halterman said. \u201cThe Golisano Children\u2019s Alliance represents something powerful: a shared commitment to excellence and the idea that every child no matter where they live deserves access to world-class care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connecticut Children\u2019s earlier this month named a former top administrator at a Rhode Island hospital as its president and chief executive officer.<\/a><\/p>\n

Shannon Sullivan, who most recently held the post of president and chief operating officer at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, RI, is to begin her new position Jan. 12. Sullivan will succeed James Shmerling, who is retiring at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Sullivan\u2019s appointment, announced early this month, comes as Connecticut Children\u2019s near the opening of its new, $320 million clinical tower at its flagship campus in Hartford<\/a>, which is expected in three months. The expansion is seen as increasing the breadth of care, integrating advanced technologies and strengthening the health care system\u2019s stature, both regionally and nationally.<\/p>\n

The 195,000-square-foot expansion will double the size of Connecticut Children\u2019s campus in Hartford and allow it to push into fetal care from its traditional pediatric care roots.<\/p>\n

The eight-story expansion has two floors with 50 private, neonatal intensive care rooms, intended to give parents privacy and a place to sleep and shower with their newborns nearby.<\/p>\n

The new tower also is to contain a fetal care center \u2014 already launched by the hospital \u2014 that will provide care to expectant mothers whose babies may need surgery before they are born.<\/p>\n

Previous reporting by Kenneth Gosselin is included in this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Golisano announced Tuesday that Connecticut Children\u2019s Medical Center will join the newly formed Golisano…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":339967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[167569,167570,167571,167572,167574,167566,6227,2738,59420,167564,7000,76966,7001,210,1141,1142,6478,268,728,47780,167565,67,132,167573,167567,167568,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-339966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-golisano-childrens-hospital-of-lee-health","9":"tag-john-r-oishei-childrens-hospital","10":"tag-penn-state-health-childrens-hospital","11":"tag-university-of-kentucky-childrens-hospital","12":"tag-university-of-vermont-childrens-hospital","13":"tag-50-million","14":"tag-alliance","15":"tag-connecticut","16":"tag-courant","17":"tag-ct-childrens","18":"tag-ct-news","19":"tag-gift","20":"tag-hartford-courant","21":"tag-health","22":"tag-health-care","23":"tag-healthcare","24":"tag-hospital","25":"tag-investment","26":"tag-local-news","27":"tag-medical-center","28":"tag-tom-golisano","29":"tag-united-states","30":"tag-unitedstates","31":"tag-university-of-maryland-childrens-hospital","32":"tag-university-of-rochester-medical-center","33":"tag-upstate-golisano-childrens-hospital-at-suny-upstate-medical-university","34":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}