Irving Healthcare Foundation grants $35 million
Written by Phil Cerroni
Irving Healthcare Foundation seeks daily to be a trusted steward of donors’ gifts, making sure that Irving’s five medical and health-related charities use these contributions exactly as promised.
“Our founders did not want multiple fundraising offices competing for gift dollars for Irving’s medical charities. They were so visionary when they created Irving Healthcare Foundation to serve any nonprofit healthcare agency that wanted to be a partner. It really is extraordinary and efficient and, as a result of its good work, such a benefit to the health of our community”, said IHF’s current Chairman Brian Smith.
The foundation’s primary recipient is Baylor Medical Center at Irving. Since 1977, IHF has raised and granted $29 million to Baylor Irving, the city’s only charitable or nonprofit hospital. These gifts have twice expanded the emergency room, added a cancer center and an outpatient surgery center on the hospital’s campus, and supported one of the Metroplex’s most robust cardiac care programs with equipment and surgery suites.
IHF each year celebrates a decades old philanthropic collaboration with the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas. More than $2.4 million given by the Resort for cancer diagnosis and treatment had benefited tens of thousands of lives.
Our Children’s House at Baylor-Irving (OCHI), a specialized childcare and therapy center, was added as a beneficiary in 1999. IHF has raised and granted more than $5 million to help thousands of children who have medical and development needs.
The Irving Interfaith Clinic (IIC) was created in 2005 to provide medical and dental care uninsured, needy residents of Irving. The clinic has since relocated to the Baylor Irving campus and has increased visits by patients from 2,000 to 6,000 during 2012.
In 2008, IHF began raising funds for the Irving Dental Center and raised and granted $194,000. The same year IHF began raising funds to support the Irving YMCA’s efforts to battle family obesity and, to date, has granted $36,000.
In the year ahead, IHF plans to focus on enhancing emergency, cardiac and cancer services at the hospital, while maintaining goals to help OCHI and IIC. The agency also will host its annual TexasFest gala on April 27 at the Irving Convention Center. More information is available at www.healthyirving.org.
Source: Irving Healthcare Foundation
