Stony Brook Children's Installs Final Beam At Topping Off Ceremony

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (2^nd Senate District) joined the Stony Brook University community for a special “Topping Off” Ceremony for Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.  At the event, cheers were heard as a crane installed the final beam needed to complete the frame of the major building project on the Stony Brook Medicine campus.

Before the ceremony, the final beam was signed by patients, families, donors, elected representatives and Stony Brook Medicine leadership.

During the ceremony, leadership of Stony Brook Medicine, Knapp Swezey Foundation, Island Federal Credit Union, other donors, elected officials, Stony Brook Children’s medical staff, and young patients and their families assembled on the 5th floor patio of Stony Brook University Hospital, with the backdrop of the massive construction site, where 465,000 square feet of building construction will lead to new space devoted to Stony Brook Medicine clinical care, research and training.

Designed for pediatric patients and their families, the new 71,500 square foot Stony Brook Children’s will feature single patient rooms geared for children of all ages, family suites with private sleep and bathing areas, and playrooms and teen relaxation spaces designed by Stony Brook Child Life Specialists. It will also expand the pediatric research program at Stony Brook Medicine.

The new Stony Brook Children’s is part of a major expansion project currently underway that will allow Stony Brook Medicine to grow with the changing needs of families throughout Suffolk County and beyond. It will be located within the 10-level University Hospital Pavilion, which is part of a 465,000 square foot development that also includes a state-of-the-art research and clinical care facility, the Medical and Research Translation building. The new facilities are being built adjacent to Stony Brook University Hospital.

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, MACP, Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences and Dean of Stony Brook University School of Medicine, recognized New York State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Senator Kenneth LaValle (1^st Senate District), the Senate’s Chair of Higher Education, for their ongoing support in securing the original $53 million in state funding for the project.

“This hospital will help a great number of children and families in our region. Congratulations to everyone who has worked throughout the year to construct this state-of-the-art facility,” said Senator Flanagan. “This effort was a great partnership of state funding and private donations, and we are very appreciative of all who joined together for the good of our community, including the Knapp Swezey Foundation and Island Federal Credit Union.”

“This project is one of my most cherished accomplishments in that it will benefit the lives of Suffolk County children and families for years to come,” said Senator LaValle.  “Today we celebrate a major milestone and recognize all those who have contributed, from the financial donors to the pediatricians and doctors to labor and their workers who are making this dream a reality.”

The event also served as a launching point for the Knapp Swezey Foundation Children’s Challenge, a $2.5 million matching challenge pledge designed to raise the $5 million needed to complete the $25 million Children’s Hospital Building fund philanthropic goal.  The Knapp Swezey Foundation has pledged a dollar-for-dollar match on all private donations and public funding received between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

The Knapp Swezey Foundation, together with their friends and family, have been dedicated supporters of Stony Brook Children’s since 2010 with a total impact of $14.4 million, including the new matching challenge pledge. Most recently, in September 2014, the Foundation gave a $2.7 million gift, which enabled Stony Brook Children’s to complete a $9 million matching challenge for the new building from an anonymous donor.

“We are grateful to the Knapp Swezey Foundation for their generosity across campus over the years,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. “The Knapp Swezey Children’s Challenge is an incredible example of their confidence in Stony Brook’s mission and how philanthropy provides the margin of excellence in all we do. It will also help position Stony Brook Children’s as a leader in pediatric care and a model children’s hospital of the future.”

Also acknowledged at the Topping Off ceremony was Island Federal Credit Union (Island) for its $750,000 gift to the new Children’s Hospital building fund earlier in the year, as part of its $7 million, 10-year partnership with Stony Brook University.

The philanthropic goal for the new Children’s Hospital is $25 million, of which more than $20 million has already been raised.  To donate and double the value of your gift with the Knapp Swezey Children’s Challenge, please click here.