Sansing Family Donates Half-Million to Children’s Hospital

More local children will be able to receive specialized pediatric healthcare close to home, thanks to a half-million dollar donation from the Sansing family to The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart.

The Sansing family has given $500,000 towards the construction of the new four-story children’s hospital on Sacred Heart’s Pensacola campus. Sacred Heart is part of Ascension, the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system.

“This is such an exciting project, truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we’re so thankful to be a part of it,” said David Sansing, son of Sandy Sansing and vice president of the Sandy Sansing Automotive Group. David was born at Sacred Heart. He and his wife, Lauren, are parents to two healthy children — five-year-old Webb and four-year-old Julianne — who were also born at Sacred Heart. “When a family has a healthy child, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the importance of outstanding pediatric healthcare in the community. As a parent, I can speak firsthand to the peace of mind I gain from The Children’s Hospital because, if something should happen to my child, compassionate, personalized healthcare will continue to be available right here at home.”

The Sansing family first felt the importance of The Children’s Hospital in 2010, when an employee’s newborn baby spent two months in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

“While the family was fearfully worried about their child’s life, the doctors and nurses went out of their way to make the experience as smooth and comforting as possible,” said Sansing, who now serves as vice chairman of the advisory board for Sacred Heart Health System. “I saw that this place is something special. You see the difference when you see the physicians and nurses speak to the children and meet each family wherever they are. They are some of the finest specialists in the country, and they choose to come here to work. That’s when I knew I had to get involved with the Children’s Hospital any way I could.”

The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart is the region’s only children’s hospital, serving families across Northwest Florida, South Alabama and South Georgia. Construction of a new four-story children’s hospital began on Sacred Heart’s Pensacola campus in March. Expected to be complete in spring 2019, the new children’s hospital will increase access to specialized pediatric and maternity care and consolidate inpatient pediatric services in one convenient location. The new children’s hospital will include a pediatric emergency department and trauma center, pediatric procedure rooms, 72-bed neonatal intensive care unit, medical/surgical beds, pediatric imaging department, pediatric satellite pharmacy, pediatric inpatient rehabilitation gym, child life playrooms, outdoor gardens and a new family-friendly dining venue.

“We’re thrilled to have such enthusiastic support from the Sansing family as the construction of our new children’s hospital progresses,” said Susan Davis, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System. “David Sansing has been a tremendous leader and asset of our organization, and Sandy Sansing, in addition to his business success, has worked tirelessly to better our community. Because of community partners like the Sansing family, we are thrilled that our vision for the future of pediatric care in the Gulf Coast is going to grow into a reality.”

Sacred Heart Health System is part of Ascension, the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system. Together, they have committed $55 million towards construction of the new children’s hospital, and Sacred Heart has raised $21 million of the $30 million needed from community supporters in order to complete all phases of the expansion. To make a donation towards the new Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart, call the Sacred Heart Foundation at (850) 416-4660 or visit www.sacred-heart.org/foundation.

The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart is a 117-bed facility that offers a wide range of services to meet all of a child’s medical needs, from a pediatric emergency room and neonatal intensive care unit to pediatric intensive care, cancer care, rehabilitation and a medical staff of more than 120 board-certified physicians across 29 pediatric specialties. The Children’s Hospital provides quality, compassionate care to children, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. For more information, visit www.sacred-heart.org/childrenshospital.