Oregon will get its first hospital dedicated to women’s health, backed by a $1.1 billion commitment from Phil and Penny Knight. The gift goes to the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and the Providence Heart Institute, the Associated Press reported.
The medical center announced the commitment on Sept. 15. Phil Knight is a co-founder of Nike. He and his wife have supported the institute for more than a decade.
They previously gave the institute more than $200 million. That total includes a $75 million gift earlier this year.
What the Women’s Hospital Aims to Fix
Ray Moreno, the medical center’s CEO, described the problem the new hospital is meant to address. “Women’s health needs change throughout life, and too often patients are asked to navigate multiple specialties and care settings on their own,” Moreno said in a statement.
“The Knights’ gift is an opportunity to bring these resources together, expanding access for women across Oregon and creating a strong foundation to bridge care gaps in women’s health,” Moreno said.
Beyond the new hospital, the donation will help the medical center expand cardiovascular care. It will also support clinical research and training programs for the heart institute’s medical personnel. The gift will make it easier to integrate patient care across the medical center.
Why the Timing Matters for Hospitals
The donation arrives as U.S. hospitals are seeing far more pregnant patients who also manage chronic health conditions. These include diabetes, hypertension, addiction, and behavioral and mental health issues.
It also lands as health care organizations struggle with the impact of government funding cuts. “Resources are scarce, and health care is increasingly looking to philanthropy to fill in the gaps,” Dan Oseran, the heart institute’s executive medical director, told the Chronicle.
“A gift like this reduces that friction a little bit and provides the ability to do things we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do,” Oseran said.
A Traditional Giving Model Put to Fast Use
Medicine and medical research have attracted mega-philanthropy since the birth of modern philanthropy in the late 19th century. That is the view of Benjamin Soskis, a historian who focuses on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
“They are some of the few institutions that can reliably absorb big-dollar donations,” Soskis said. He added that the Knights “have updated a standby of the traditional philanthropic playbook to provide a model of getting a lot of money out the door now.”
Counting pledges and direct gifts, the Knights’ latest commitment pushes their total charitable giving past $9 billion over the past two decades. About $2.5 billion of that went to their family foundation and donor-advised funds.
