Jeff Gordon donates $1M for hospital:

Jeff Gordon is donating $1 million for the construction of what will now be known as the “Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital At NorthEast Medical Center.”
“I believe children and families are really the heart and soul of our future,” Gordon said. The contribution comes from the Jeff Gordon Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping support the physical, social and intellectual needs of children and their families. Gordon said even though he doesn’t have kids, his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana and other organizations give him the opportunity to meet with children often. “It still blows me away every time I meet them,” he said. “I walk away from them with my heart breaking.” Gordon said he chose to support a hospital in the Concord area in part because of Concord’s racing connection. “You have to factor in how many of the people are involved in racing in this community,” he said. “The gift from The Jeff Gordon Foundation will help ensure the best medical care for the racing families in this community, especially their children.” Gordon also mentioned NEMC’s standing as the only North Carolina hospital to be named as a “100 Top Hospital” for the past four consecutive years as one of these reasons for his support. The children’s hospital will serve patients from birth to age 18 and will be located in part of two new floors under construction on the Clinical Services building at NEMC. The Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital at NorthEast Medical Center will have 26,800 square feet of space that will house a 24-bed pediatric unit. The fact that Jeff Gordon’s racing number is 24 and the hospital will have 24 beds is a coincidence, said Lee Brower, director of communications for NEMC. In fact, the hospital will also have a 5-bed pediatric intensive care unit, a children’s playroom, a Teen Café, an outpatient treatment clinic and a new Child Advocacy Center. The patient rooms will include private beds and baths, televisions and DVD players, monitoring capabilities, play space and Internet workstations. Targeted to open in December of 2006, the hospital is estimated to cost $9.4 million. The NEMC Foundation will raise $5.9 million of that over the next three years. Gordon said his $1 million donation is just the next step for the Jeff Gordon Foundation and said he may consider having a signature event for the hospital or donating more money in the future for other things related to the Children’s Hospital. “The demand will be there to continue to have more equipment and facilities,” he said. “Who knows where it will stop?”(Independent Tribune)(5-29-2005)