SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kinney Drugs Foundation has pledged $250,000 to the Crouse Health Foundation’s CrouseCares campaign in support of the renovation and expansion of the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) at Crouse Health.
The Crouse Health Foundation says it plans to raise $10 million through private gifts to the CrouseCares campaign to support the $31 million NICU expansion and renovation project. The plan is to raise the funds by the end of 2020.
With the $250,000 Kinney Drugs Foundation pledge, the Crouse Health Foundation has raised more than $1.8 million toward the $10 million fundraising goal, Cheryl Abrams, director of communications and digital media at Crouse Health, said in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.
Crouse Health doesn’t plan to start working on the project until it has raised the necessary funding, Robert Allen, VP of communications & government affairs at Crouse Health, added in an email.
Crouse Health in 2018 announced plans to expand its regional NICU to provide more space for “parents to bond with their fragile newborns,” for equipment, and for monitoring and treating critically ill infants.
A team of neonatologists, nurses, and pediatric specialists from the Crouse NICU annually care for more than 1,000 babies from 14 counties across upstate New York.
The renovation and expansion of the NICU is a “priority” project of the CrouseCares campaign, which has surpassed $16 million in donations to support capital projects and initiatives at Crouse.
About the Kinney Drugs Foundation
Established in 2002, the Kinney Drugs Foundation annually holds events to “benefit local charities and local families and provides assistance, donations, and care to thousands of families in upstate New York and Vermont,” as described in the Crouse Health Foundation news release. To date, the Kinney Drugs Foundation has provided more than $11 million to various national organizations as well as their local chapters, per the news release.
The Kinney Drugs Foundation is the philanthropic arm of KPH Healthcare Services, Inc., which is based in Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County. KPH Healthcare Services includes Kinney Drugs regional drug store chain, as well as three commercial businesses, including ProAct Pharmacy Benefits Management, HealthDirect Pharmacy Services, and Noble Health Services, per the news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com