Iowa Receives Largest Donation Ever, Will Build New Hospital
In 2017, one of the greatest new traditions in sports found its home in Iowa City.
At the end of the first quarter of every Hawkeye football game, roughly 70,000 people -- including fans, football players, and coaches -- turn to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital and wave to patients and their families watching the game from the hospital. It's a moment that shows how much bigger life is than sports.
Thanks to the largest donation in the University of Iowa's 175-year history, another hospital will soon be built across from Kinnick Stadium. As reported by WQAD, "The foundation of the late Des Moines businessman and philanthropist, Richard Jacobson, has announced a $70 million gift." The foundation made the announcement on Tuesday.
The contribution will go towards the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics patient care tower, which "will bear Jacobson's name, pending approval from Iowa's Board of Regents. The new facility will feature single inpatient rooms, state-of-the-art operating rooms, and intensive care unit beds in an effort to address capacity issues, rising health care demands, and aging facilities."
University of Iowa president Barbara Wilson said this to ForIowa.org regarding the donation and the future of Iowa Hospitals:
We are proud to serve Iowa with our state’s only comprehensive academic medical center, providing life-saving and life-changing care to people from across the state and beyond. Richard Jacobson’s commitment to the UI was extraordinary, and this latest and very generous gift on his behalf will allow our exceptional health care team to deliver the highest level of care to all Iowans.
Governor Kim Reynolds chimed in on the praise and excitement for the university's donation:
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics has long been a beacon of hope for Iowans and others with serious health conditions. This generous gift from the Richard O. Jacobson Foundation will not only expand access to world-class care in our state, it will further elevate UI Health Care's national reputation as a health care innovator and attract more medical professionals to fulfilling careers in Iowa.
Jacobson, who was an alumnus of Iowa, regularly donated to the university. His lifetime contributions through the foundation add up to "more than $86 million and includes support for the Iowa Reading Research Center, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center in the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, and Hawkeye athletics."