Bay Area family gives historic $50M donation to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's new pediatric facility
TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa Bay area family made a historic $50 million donation to the St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Foundation for a new pediatric facility.
Sidd Pagidipati and his family announced the donation on Wednesday, which, according to the hospital, is the largest financial gift ever made to a Tampa Bay area hospital.
"Today was a privilege," Pagidipati said. "My dad came here to this country as a pediatric anesthesiologist with $8 in his pocket. Fast forward, on his 50th anniversary of coming to this country, on their 50th wedding anniversary, we have the privilege, after living the American dream, to give back to the community that helped make it possible."
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The money will go towards the new children's hospital that is being built on the same campus where the existing hospital sits. It will be named "Pagidipati Children's Hospital at St. Joseph's," and it's expected to open in 2030.
Not only will the new, state-of-the-art facility treat more kids, it will also offer more specialty treatments, benefiting little ones like Brooks Miller. The 4-year-old was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and has had four open-heart surgeries already.
The new hospital will help Miller continue treatment close to home.
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"He is going to need some more procedures," Brooks’ mom, Meghan Miller, told FOX 13. "The list of what he can do far outweighs what he can’t do. And it's all because of our great doctors here, and it's all because of the world-class care that we get right here in our backyard."
"We want to make Tampa the healthiest and the best place in the country to raise a family," Pagidipati said.
Pagidipati’s contributions to the Tampa Bay community also extend to the Glazer Children’s Museum: He bought the world's largest Triceratops skeleton, lovingly known as "Big John," for $7.7 million.
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