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East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Now Named After Dolly Parton, Says She Donated “Generational & Transformational” Amounts Of Money
She’s truly an angel on earth. In February, it was announced that East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville would officially be renamed Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital in honor of the country music legend and her history of giving back to the Tennessee community.
Thanks to her long history of support for various children’s hospitals over the years, most notably the recent star-studded re-release of her 1977 hit, “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” which saw all proceeds from the song fund pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, the Tennessee native received a huge honor because of all of her years of support, as well as a more recent, very, very large contribution.
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Located at 2018 W Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee, the hospital has been open since 1937. Over the years, it has remained one of the leading pediatric centers in the state, boasting nearly 20 locations, including primary cares, urgent cares, surgery centers and rehabilitation facilities, in East Tennessee.
In a statement at the time of the announcement, Dolly would express how honored she is to stand alongside the hospital and bring hope, comfort and healing to the children and their families when they need it most:
“Being fortunate to have grown up in the mountains of East Tennessee, I learned early on what it means to take care of one another. Every child deserves world-class care, wrapped in kindness and love. I’m so honored to stand alongside this hospital and do my part to help bring more hope, more comfort and more healing to children and families.”
And during a recent conversation with Chief Healthcare Executive, Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital CEO Matt Schaefer called it a “surreal moment” to get the news of Dolly’s donation, saying Dolly had her “incredibly disarming personality” on display the entire time, and he called it “humbling” to hear her talk about how important this is to her family and community, and of course, the children who will benefit from it:
“It was truly humbling, and to hear her, in her own words, talk about the importance of this to her, to her community, to this organization, and to children, was super affirming.”
Through the donation, he explained that they hope to recruit more doctors and build on fundraising, in addition to investing in new programs and technology:
“I think anytime you have someone of her stature, someone of her standing, certainly in this region, across the United States, across the world, honestly, and to have the halo effect of everything she stood for in her life, including her love for children in particular, it just is fantastic for the future of our mission.
While he tactfully declined to reveal the exact dollar amount of what Parton donated (partially due to her request, I would imagine), it sounds like it was an incredible amount of money that Dolly has committed to, as Schaefer called her donation “generational and transformational,” so you can imagine how much that probably amounts to:
“What I can tell you is that she has made a generational and transformational commitment to Children’s and its mission, and that commitment is something that goes beyond our wildest expectations, that is beyond generous, and will be a lifeline for this mission for now and for years to come.
And we’re excited about and humbled by her willingness to do so.”
Of course, the monetary value of her donation will do incredible things, but having her name and backing alone means a lot too because what it:
“Allows us to do is to tell a broader story about the depth and breadth of services here, to imagine how we can continue to expand those services, and it accelerates how we should think about what our responsibility is to the patients and families that trust us today and invariably will trust us tomorrow.”
They will do “a little bit of everything” with the money, and they’re hoping to build on a lot of what they’re already doing:
“What Dolly’s partnership is allowing us to do, is to amplify and accelerate some of those initiatives in a way that we could not have done otherwise without that type of support and backing and awareness across the region, for providers, for clinicians, for patients, for families and for referring providers.”
He adds:
“I believe that will continue to help us as we do things like residency recruitment and train pediatricians, as we recruit talent to this region, and I hope that’s a big part of how Dolly coming alongside our mission helps us do more than we could have in any imaginable way.”
Of course, Schaefar says they feel a “pressure” to live up to the expectations of Dolly because she’s such a well-known philanthropist and truly wonderful person, and they want to be able to reach the same expectations Dolly has set for her entire career to go above and beyond for not only her fans, but those less fortunate than her, especially in her hometown, as is evidenced by this donation:
“I think that we feel pressure to live up to those expectations. I’m proud of the work that Children’s has done over its almost-90-year-history to be well-positioned. To imagine Dolly Parton coming alongside us, I think that that speaks well as to our history about some of those key values.
But I would also say, as I’ve said to our team, however high the bar was yesterday, it’s higher today. And that is not, in any way, shape or form, a prideful way of talking. I think that’s just an appropriate way of talking.
And you know, if we’re not reaching for something more and better for the patients and families we serve after this, then we’re not honoring the confidence that has been placed in us.”
Of course, living up to the legacy of Dolly Parton and her record of giving so generously is no small task, but it sounds like the team at Dolly Parton Children’s hospital is up for it and I have no doubt she trusts them very much considering she’s given what is clearly an exorbitant amount of money in an effort to help the sweet little ones of East Tennessee and their families that find themselves at that hospital.
For as incredible as her music and entertainment career has obviously been, and we all know she’s one of the all-time greats to put it lightly, Dolly’s heart and generosity somehow continues to be on par with that, and it’s hard to name any other star at her level who gives as much as she does. Dolly’s an example to us all, and she is truly a national treasure we must protect at all costs.
“Light of a Clear Blue Morning”
The post East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Now Named After Dolly Parton, Says She Donated “Generational & Transformational” Amounts Of Money first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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