New Children’s Hospital gets major boost, was renamed after $1 million donor

When the new Children’s Hospital is rebuilt in Macon, it won’t only look different, but it will also have a new name.

The hospital has received the support of $5 million — from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has invested $4 million in the project, and from Beverly Olson, a longtime philanthropist and hospital volunteer and supporter, who has committed $1 million.

The hospital’s new facility was named the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health, to honor her contributions. The announcement was made during a news conference Tuesday morning just down the block from where construction is underway on the new facility at 888 Pine St.

Olson is one of four daughters of Knight-Ridder newspapers’ founder James Knight. The foundation invests in cities where the Knight brothers published newspapers, including The Telegraph. During the past 10 years, about $25 million has been invested in the Macon community, said Lynn Murphey, the foundation’s Macon program director.

“Today represents how much Beverly Knight Olson not only loves the children of this region but Beverly Knight Olson loves Macon, Georgia,” Murphey said. “And this (hospital) will be a way for this to be remembered forever.”

After the rendering was revealed, Olson was clearly moved.

“Wow, this is unreal,” she said as she came to the podium. “I hadn’t seen the final rendition, so it’s amazing.”

She said the donation “is a start” on the building, adding that the new technology that can be put into the hospital will attract the doctors and staff needed to make it successful.

“When you consider someone who in Macon epitomizes selflessness and compassion, the first name that comes to mind is Beverly Knight Olson,” Ellen Terrell, chief development officer of the Navicent Health Foundation, said in a statement. “We could not think of a more fitting person after whom to name our Children’s Hospital. A gift of this magnitude from Beverly Knight Olson and Knight Foundation will propel this campaign to the next level, and we know others will follow her lead to help make this new Children’s Hospital a reality for families in central and south Georgia.”

Navicent Health President/CEO Ninfa Saunders said Olson is “deeply involved in the Macon community and has been a faithful and active supporter of Children’s Hospital for many years.”

Olson helped establish the hospital’s Safe Kids Bibb County program as well as its annual Golf Classic fundraiser.

“We are thrilled to name our new facility in her honor, not only for her generous financial support, but also for her many years of hands-on care for our children and their families,” Saunders said.

The hospital is projected to have more than 45,000 visits annually, and the state-of-the-art facility will contribute to downtown Macon’s transformation.

Navicent Health continues to seek philanthropic support to get the hospital built.

“It should be a place where the kids should feel safe, but more importantly it should be a place of healing,” Saunders said. About 60 percent of the children coming to the hospital will be using Medicaid, and “in spite of that we are building this hospital. That is not possible without the private funds from the community.”

Since 1987, Children’s Hospital has been the only dedicated pediatric facility in Middle Georgia providing comprehensive care in general pediatrics, pediatric critical care, neonatal intensive care and outpatient services. The hospital also serves as the primary teaching site for the Department of Pediatrics at the Mercer University School of Medicine.

Due to a growing demand, the hospital had outgrown its former facility, which was built in 1962 and designed for adult health care. The hospital announced in June last year that it planned to build a new Children’s Hospital within three years.

The 183,000-square-foot structure should begin coming out of the ground in August, said Timothy Slocum, vice president of system support services.

“We are adding about 100,000” square feet to what was there before, he said. It will be attached to an existing building. “There were three buildings we had to tear down to make room” for the new hospital.

The goal is to open the new hospital to patients in 2019. The construction is one of several initiatives Navicent Health plans to undertake within the next five years to provide heath care in the region. Currently Navicent Health has 830 beds for medical, surgical, rehabilitation and hospice purposes.

This story was originally published June 27, 2017 at 10:00 AM with the headline "New Children’s Hospital gets major boost, was renamed after $1 million donor."