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We really hope this initial gift will serve as a seed donation to encourage other gifts so the endowment can grow to provide a solid financial foundation for the ongoing care of Heart Center patients and expansion of services.

(PRWeb) November 17, 2006 -- Children's Hospital Central California has received a $1 million donation which will serve as a catalyst to grow an endowment designed to help the Children's Hospital Heart Center continue to provide world-class care to Central Valley children.



The gift comes from Georgia philanthropist Jane Seddon Willson, and honors her daughter Jane H. Willson, Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Physician Support at Children's, and her son-in-law Dr. Malcolm J. MacDonald, a pediatric cardiac surgeon at the Heart Center. The center will be named The Jane Seddon Willson Heart Center at Children's Hospital in appreciation of the gift.

"I've been to Children's Hospital and I think it's just a wonderful place," said Mrs. Willson, "They do so many things to help little babies and fix their hearts, and they keep taking care of them until they're grown. I'm just so impressed with what they do."

"The Children's Hospital Heart Center Endowment will provide ongoing support for the needs of the Heart Center at Children's Hospital," said William F. Haug, Children's President and CEO, "We really hope this initial gift will serve as a seed donation to encourage other gifts so the endowment can grow to provide a solid financial foundation for the ongoing care of Heart Center patients and expansion of services."

The Children's Hospital Heart Center doctors, nurses, technicians, and administrative staff all work together as a team focused on improving the life and health of our patients. A team approach to family-centered care is a core philosophy at Children's Hospital Central California. By working in collaboration to care for patients who suffer from serious and life-threatening heart conditions, the Heart Center team routinely produces patient outcomes matching or surpassing nearly every other children's hospital in the country.

The Heart Center at Children's is truly a special environment. All our cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensivists and staff are experts in caring for children with heart disease and in special disciplines such as cardiac diagnosis, interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery and critical care. The Heart Center team uses proven, leading-edge technology and techniques combined with compassionate personal attention to heal kids with heart defects.

Children's offers advanced technology and state-of-the-art therapeutics for both congenital and acquired pediatric cardiovascular disease, all delivered in a comfortable setting. Patients receive high quality treatment in a low key, hometown environment. Whenever possible, the cardiac team utilizes minimally invasive and blood conservation techniques. Using endovascular therapeutics, interventional cardiologists can close a hole in a child's heart through a 1/8 inch skin puncture. Cardiac surgery in the newborn and in early infancy enables doctors to perform complete repairs of major defects in many cases, and staged repairs in others.

The Jane Seddon Willson Heart Center at Children's Hospital includes the cardiac testing center, cardiac catheterization lab, cardiac intensive care and cardiac operating room with pediatric staff who are trained to treat complex cardiac patients. Our cardiovascular surgeons are members of the Stanford University faculty.

Annually, there are over 7,000 visits to the cardiology practice, with over 16,000 non-invasive cardiac tests, such as echocardiograms and EKGs, performed in the cardiac testing center. In the past year, the surgical team performed over 200 operations, over two-thirds of which used cardiopulmonary bypass. In addition, over 120 therapeutic interventional catheterizations were done.

Jane Seddon Willson is President of Sunnyland Farms in Albany, Georgia, founded by Jane and her husband Harry in 1948. The company specializes in selling pecans, candy and nuts. The Willsons have been strong supporters of education and healthcare programs in Georgia.

Children's Hospital Central California is the 13th largest free-standing children's hospital in the country and the only one located in a rural area. Our service area encompasses over 45,000 square miles, stretching from Stockton to Bakersfield and the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the largest service areas of any children's hospital in the nation.

Founded in 1952 by five visionary women as a 42-bed hospital with a staff of 118 physicians, Children's has grown into a 255-bed pediatric medical center on a 50-acre campus. We now have more than 500 doctors practicing in over 40 pediatric subspecialties with clinics and services throughout the state. From nearly 2,000 patients in 1952, Children's Hospital now sees more than 12,000 inpatient cases, 50,000 emergency visits, and performs over 9,000 operations each year.

Media Information:
Micheline Golden
(559) 353-7049

Children's Hospital Central California
9300 Valley Children's Place
Madera, California 93638-8762
T: 559.353.3000
F: 559.353.7109
www.childrenscentralcal.org

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