Carolinas Healthcare System announced the commitment of $3 million from the Rick and Linda Hendrick family to benefit Levine Children’s Hospital. In recognition of the gift, Levine Children’s Hospital will dedicate its Pediatric Intensive Care Centers in honor of the Hendrick’s late son and youngest child, Ricky Hendrick. Encompassing the sixth floor of the new hospital, the Ricky Hendrick Centers for Intensive Care will house the facility’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the region’s first Pediatric Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. The Centers will feature a five-room sleep inn for parents, two private family waiting areas, a large open waiting space and a state-of-the-art business lounge. “Our family is proud to make this pledge in Ricky’s name,” said Linda Hendrick, Ricky’s mother. “He was a young man who would run, not walk, to wherever he was going. This hospital will make certain that others have the same opportunity.” Lauded by planners as the hospital’s “heart and soul,” the Centers will treat the most critically ill and injured children from across the region. Upon completion in summer 2007, the 234-bed facility will be the third-largest of its kind in the southeastern United States and the largest between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. “Our son placed a great importance on doing one’s part to help others,” said Ricky’s father, Rick Hendrick, chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Motorsports. “He had a passion for making a difference in people’s lives, which is exactly what Levine Children’s Hospital will do for families of this region.” Currently under construction on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center, Levine Children’s Hospital will have the capacity to provide daily treatment to hundreds of patients from all walks of life. Its forward-thinking design will foster a warm and loving environment that is also state of the art. Levine Children’s Hospital, already under construction on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center, will be dedicated solely to the needs of children and their families. Expanding upward to 12 stories, the new children’s hospital will feature several of the region’s “firsts,” including a dedicated cardiac intensive care unit and a 24-hour pediatric emergency department.(Carolinas Healthcare System PR)(1-25-2006)
