Atherton couple donates $80 million to Stanford children’s hospital and medical school
Atherton residents Elizabeth and Bruce Dunlevie have made an $80 million gift to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and the Stanford University School of Medicine that will help advance the science and practice of maternal-fetal medicine and fund new facilities to increase access to care.
“Our family has been fortunate to live and work in Silicon Valley and in close proximity to Stanford for several decades, and we’ve been grateful beneficiaries of the excellent care delivered by Packard Children’s Hospital more than once,” says Bruce. “Knowing from personal experience how transformative world-class medical treatment can be for mothers and babies, we’re thrilled to help advance the state of the art in medical science for maternal-fetal research, and to give every mother and baby the highest-quality medical care.”
Packard Children’s Hospital was founded on the vision of one mother, Lucile Salter Packard, who believed in the importance of caring for expectant mothers and their babies together. More than 100,000 babies have been born at the hospital since its 1991 opening. The Dunlevies’ gift builds on Mrs. Packard’s legacy.
“My journey with this hospital started as the mother of a child who needed life-saving care, and my family is forever grateful for Lucile’s vision and the care teams who ensured this hospital was here for us when we needed it,” says Elizabeth, who is board chair at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and a board member at Packard Children’s Hospital. “For all of us, the year 2020 has driven home the importance of health, of providing a healthy start for all families. With this gift we want to help ensure access to Packard’s quality of care for all mothers and babies, across socioeconomic boundaries, now and in the future.”
The Dunlevies’ gift provides $50 million to launch a transformation of the 1st floor of the children’s hospital West building, including a new state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit with 14 private suites. For mothers requiring hospitalization prior to delivery, the hospital will also build a dedicated maternity antepartum unit.
Their gift also provides $30 million to further develop a world-class Maternal-Fetal Medicine program at the School of Medicine. The hospital already treats complex fetal disorders. Yet with nearly two-thirds of the expectant mothers at Packard Children’s Hospital being high-risk, there is potential to do more for mothers with underlying conditions such as heart disease, cancer, epilepsy, and diabetes.
“The impact of this incredible gift will be felt for generations—for the mothers and babies we help and, perhaps even more importantly, for those we will never have to treat because of new discoveries and cures made possible by this investment,” says Paul King, president and CEO of Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Children’s Health.
Photo courtesy of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
