Parker family donates additional $2 million for Arkansas children’s hospital expansion

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (July 22, 2024) – Arkansas Children’s is proud to announce a generous $2 million gift from Lynn and Don Parker and their children toward the Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) expansion project. The Jonesboro family has been a longtime supporter of Arkansas Children’s and has once again demonstrated their commitment to the health and well-being of children.

In addition to this generous gift, the Parkers have committed a planned gift of $1 million to the ACH Jonesboro Clinic, further expanding the facility’s ability to provide exceptional care to children in the northeast Arkansas region. This is the family’s second $1 million gift to the ACH Jonesboro Clinic. They also gave $1 million in 2019.

Support from donors like the Parkers is enabling Arkansas Children’s to build a new generation of care with its $318 million expansion project at both hospitals, announced in 2023. The plan will expand bed capacity, transform outpatient and inpatient surgical approaches with the addition of an outpatient center, redesign clinical spaces to promote multidisciplinary care, and create a welcoming and accessible campus experience. With the Parker family’s donation, businesses, individuals and organizations have donated $12.1 million toward the $253.2 million expansion project at ACH.

“Arkansas Children’s served 180,000 children last year — more children than ever before,” said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s. “Arkansas Children’s historic expansion will increase access to pediatric care, improve exceptional outcomes for children and enhance the patient experience at both hospital campuses.”

Lynn Parker, a member of the Arkansas Children’s Foundation board since 2018, knows firsthand the power of philanthropy and the transformative impact donations have at Arkansas Children’s.

“Our family passionately believes that every child deserves the best health care available,” said Lynn Parker. “For more than a century, Arkansas Children’s has been at the forefront of pediatric care for our state and region. As a family, we are honored to add our names to the long list of supporters of this life-saving mission. We all benefit from the impact of generosity in our community. We see it every day in the lives of children and their families.”

Fred Scarborough, executive vice president and chief development officer at Arkansas Children’s, expressed his gratitude to the Parker family for their generosity, emphasizing that their investment in children’s health will have a timeless impact on the children of Arkansas and beyond.

“The Parkers have a long history of supporting Arkansas Children’s with gifts for pediatric care in northeast Arkansas, northwest Arkansas and regional efforts from Little Rock,” Scarborough said. “Their volunteerism and philanthropy have helped maintain, strengthen and expand the advanced levels of medicine needed for the children of Arkansas and beyond. We are thrilled to have their support for the most comprehensive expansion project in our 112-year history.”

From its founding as an orphanage in 1912 to its development into a nationally recognized health system, Arkansas Children’s has remained steadfast in its commitment to being a champion for children. For more information about expansion, visit archildrens.org/expansion. To support Arkansas Children’s growth, visit archildrens.org/donate or call 800-880-7491 today.

Planned Giving enables Arkansas Children’s donors to integrate charitable giving into their overall financial and estate planning, maximizing their philanthropic impact and maximizing financial benefits. Supporting Arkansas Children’s with a future gift is a powerful way to ensure that one’s generosity continues and makes a lasting difference for the children of Arkansas and the region.

With a variety of options to choose from — whether it’s a bequest in a will, a charitable trust, or another giving vehicle — planned gifts can be tailored to a donor’s specific needs and philanthropic goals. Learn more about supporting Arkansas Children’s expansion with a future gift at archildrens.org/giftplanning.

ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN

Arkansas Children’s is the only health system in the state dedicated solely to caring for Arkansas’s more than 700,000 children. The private, nonprofit organization includes two children’s hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a child care alliance, clinics throughout the state, and many educational and outreach programs—all focused on fulfilling a commitment to define and deliver unparalleled childhood health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed Magnet-accredited facility in Little Rock that operates the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state’s only burn center; the state’s only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); and the state’s only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2023-2024): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology & Lung Surgery, and Urology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region, is a Level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient facility; a surgical suite with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering more than 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and northwest Arkansas’s only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer commitment has sustained Arkansas Children’s since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures that the system can fulfill its promise of unparalleled child health. For more information, visit archildrens.org.

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