MSDW employees raise $55 million for new hospital

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 20, 2000

A dozen children aged five to ten used toy bulldozers and shovels to break ground for the new Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Children's Hospital of New York recently. The ceremony capped unique philanthropic effort, in which more than 300 Morgan Stanley Dear Witter employees personally contributed more than $55 million to help build what will be one of the largest, most technologically advanced children's hospitals in the world. The gift reinforces a two-decade long relationship between the Wall Street firm and New York Presbyterian Hospital, one of the world's leading academic medical centers.

The new, nine-story, 250,000 SF facility will rise on the site of a former parking lot adjacent to the existing Babies & Children's Hospital at 165th St. and Broadway. The $120 million facility is scheduled to be completed in March 2003.

Some of the "junior excavators" at the ceremony included former patients of the Children's Hospital. The others were children of employees of the hospital and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

"We are so grateful to the employees of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter for this magnificent gift," said Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of New York Presbyterian Hospital. "Morgan. Stanley Dean Witter has supported the hospital's mission for many years, but the level of generosity in this effort was beyond anything we imagined. This is an extraordinary example of one firm's dedication to the community."

"This contribution is special because it comes from individual employees of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Each of them made a personal decision to participate, but only in coming together as a team did they make the dream a reality. We're very proud of the work we do every day, but this gift in particular, reminds us of what truly special people work here," said John J. Mack, president and chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, who has served on the board of trustees of New York Presbyterian since 1992.

Dedicated exclusively to the care of children and families, Children's Hospital will house both in-patient and diagnostic services, including a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and floors dedicated to specialized services such as cardiology, neurology, oncology, and surgery. The facility, will also feature single bedrooms with bedside Internet access. Each floor will also have its own dedicated child life and family centers.

In addition, the new building will offer a conference center and a spacious lobby with a performance area and glass walls that open onto the hospital's garden. The Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Children's Hospital of New York will be adjacent to the existing Babies and Children's Hospital, which will be renovated and will offer dramatically expanded outpatient services, as well as complementary research and diagnostic services. Design work will be shared by two architectural firms: Philadelphia-based Ewing Cole Cherry Brott and New York-based Davis Brody Bond.

According to Cynthia Sparer, executive director of the Children' s Hospital of New York at New York Presbyterian, the project began in April 1999 with the dedication of the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Pediatric intensive care unit, for which the firm had contributed $3.5. million. At that point, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter turned its attention to the possibility of significantly expanding and enhancing the hospital's ability to serve pediatric patients.

Once the seed was planted, it took only nine months to secure commitments for $50 million from more than 300 MSDW employees. According to Mack, the firm plans to encourage additional contributions once the donation is announced company-wide.