Local Philanthropist Harvey Najim Gives the Gift of Life

SAN ANTONIO, TX (May 23, 2018) – Harvey E. Najim has demonstrated his support of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio by donating $1.4 million. The gift will fund two ground ambulance units designed by the ALL KIDZ Critical Care Transport Team for 24/7 Neonatal and Pediatric Critical Care transportation.

“We are humbled by this generous gift from Harvey E. Najim,” said John E. Bel, president, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation. “This incredible gift will help The Children’s Hospital advance its mission to bring an unprecedented level of pediatric health care to San Antonio and beyond.”

The ALL KIDZ Critical Care Transport Team for The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio will be the first and only combined neonatal and pediatric team in San Antonio and the region to help critically ill or injured children get to essential life-saving and healing treatment as safely and quickly as possible.

Designed by the ALL KIDZ Critical Care Team at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, the new hospital-owned ambulances will expedite critical access by eliminating ground transportation delays and wait times to care for sick children, taking specialized neonatal and pediatric critical care to children wherever and whenever needed, and ensuring a continuity of neonatal and pediatric medical care for each child transported to The Children’s Hospital. The highly-equipped ambulances, specially designed for pediatrics, are the first of their kind in the city.

The ALL KIDZ Critical Care Team includes highly specialized registered nurses (RN), respiratory therapists (RT), and emergency medical technicians (EMT). They provide life-saving care and transport more than 1,200 children annually to The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

“Saving a child’s life is critical,” said Harvey E. Najim, president, The Najim Family Foundation. “It is my honor to support The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and the health care professionals who provide an invaluable service to our community.”

The Najim Family Foundation was established in December 2006 to support children’s charitable organizations in the greater San Antonio area. To date, the Najim Family Foundation and Mr. Najim, personally have given out in grants and pledges approximately $100 million to children’s charities in the Greater San Antonio area. The Najim Family Foundation’s past gifts to The Children’s Hospital include a gift in 2007 to support the expansion and renovation of the NICU and its equipment; a 2008 gift was given to purchase an Echo Cardiograph machine; in 2009, the foundation’s gift enabled hiring Child Life staff. In 2013 Harvey E. Najim and The Najim Family Foundation, demonstrated its support for The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio by donating $3 million, a combined gift comprised of a personal gift from Najim as well a gift from The Najim Family Foundation. The gifts were used for construction of the new KidsSTOP and the Child Life Center in the Hospital and he is recognized in each location. In 2016, Najim gifted $1.5 million to fund the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program.

About The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation

The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation was founded in 1955 to support The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio is the first free-standing hospital in San Antonio solely dedicated to the care of children. Located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio is owned by CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System. Founded in 1869 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of Houston and San Antonio, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa is a Catholic, faith-based, nonprofit health and wellness ministry dedicated to extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ and providing the highest quality medical care and services available. As one of the top health care organizations in South-Central Texas, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa has five hospital campuses, with campuses located in downtown San Antonio, the South Texas Medical Center, in New Braunfels, in Westover Hills, and a short-stay surgical hospital in Alamo Heights. For additional information on The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation, visit www.childrenshospitalsafoundation.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chosafoundation, and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/csrfoundations.

 

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