ORNL’s Payne to serve as AC chair for Children’s Hospital campaign

Each year, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital gets more than 148,000 visits from tens of thousands of children across 16 counties in Tennessee. In 2013, more than 7,300 children from Anderson County sought treatment at the hospital.

On Tuesday, officials announced that Terry L. Payne of Oak Ridge National Laboratory has volunteered to be the Anderson County campaign chair as Children’s Hospital, which plans to expand, seeks support to better serve the region’s children.

“I am pleased and honored to do my part in helping Children’s Hospital’s expansion project,” Payne said in a press release. “At some point while each was growing up, my son and two daughters received care from the wonderful Children’s Hospital staff. We are so fortunate to have a stand-alone hospital in our community that is dedicated to the well-being of our children’s health. I know that Anderson County will be proud to do their part.”

Families in Anderson County recognize Children’s Hospital as the premier resource for pediatrics in the region, because it offers care in more than 30 pediatric specialties, with more than 500 attending physicians. For the hospital to keep pace with the need for its services, it needs to expand. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital will break ground in the summer of 2014 on a new 268,000 square-foot, five-story facility, and partial funding for this project will come from the community.

The estimated cost for the expansion is $75 million, and while the hospital plans to pay for this largely with internal funds, Children’s Hospital will look to the community for additional help. Of this goal, $60 million will be funded by the hospital, and $15 million will be raised through private and community donors, physicians, and hospital employees.

So far, the capital campaign has raised nearly $10 million.

The expansion will also mean more specialized services for the needs of children with diabetes, cleft palate, cystic fibrosis, and obesity. Additionally, 44 private Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) rooms will enable the tiniest patients to get the best possible care they need.

Other new features include new operating rooms, and additional parking spaces, as well as enhanced family areas, such as a rooftop garden to give patient families a place to relax and relieve their anxiety.

To make a donation, simply visit www.etch.com or call the Children’s Hospital Development Office at (865) 525-GIVE.