Philanthropist and entrepreneur Tom Golisano just dropped a $100M commitment that’s reshaping the map of pediatric healthcare. Two hospitals, Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock and Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta, are each receiving $50M and joining the Golisano Children’s Alliance, bringing the total network to 12 leading institutions nationwide. That’s not just expansion, it’s ecosystem design. When the founder of Paychex starts investing in children’s hospitals, it’s not about legacy. It’s about leverage.
Arkansas Children’s, founded in 1912 by Horace Gaines Pugh, evolved from an orphanage into the state’s only pediatric health system fully dedicated to kids. This $50M gift, the largest in its 113-year history, renames the Little Rock campus as the Arkansas Children’s Golisano Campus and links it to a national network built on shared data, genomic research, and clinical collaboration. For CEO Marcy Doderer and Chief Development Officer Fred Scarborough, this funding lights up an already bold $371M systemwide expansion.
That expansion includes new surgical suites, upgraded ambulatory services, and a Springdale campus boost adding 15 beds. Arkansas Children’s is more than a hospital, it’s the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center and Level IV NICU in the state, powered by its Angel One transport fleet reaching 86% of Arkansas kids within 60 miles. It’s a statewide safety net built on precision and purpose, not proximity.
Down in Augusta, Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia, established in 1998 and strengthened by Wellstar Health System’s 2023 partnership with Augusta University, lands its own $50M infusion, the largest philanthropic gift in Wellstar’s history. The hospital now takes on a new name: Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia. With President & CEO Ketul J. Patel leading Wellstar Health System, Russell T. Keen guiding Augusta University, and Mary Chatman and Dr. Richard Freeman driving operations and physician leadership, this move amplifies both scale and substance.
The funding powers a new Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, expands PICU capacity by 57%, and integrates Epic EHR across the 478-bed medical complex. Add the upcoming Medical College of Georgia campus at Wellstar Kennestone, and you get an academic pipeline fueling a five-state referral powerhouse serving Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Tom Golisano didn’t just give away $100M, he redefined how philanthropy functions. It’s business logic applied to compassion, turning capital into care. The man who built Paychex to simplify payroll is now simplifying access to life itself. And in an era when healthcare headlines are dominated by mergers and margins, this is the kind of investment that cuts through the noise, with precision, humanity, and the kind of vision that makes history feel immediate.
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