Announcement of Major Gifts for Tower Expansion at Mercy Hospital Southwest
BAKERSFIELD, CA - August 21, 2019 -
The Friends of Mercy Foundation announced two generous donations of $1 million each from long-time supporters of Dignity Health Mercy Hospitals, the David and Catherine Gay Family and Drs. Ravi and Naina Patel. These transformational gifts will support plans to build a new four-story, 106-bed tower at the Mercy Southwest campus.
“To have the support of such generous people like the Gays and the Patels is overwhelming,” says Bruce Peters, president and CEO of Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield. “Their generosity and spirit of humankindness will allow us to build the kind of facility that the community in the Southwest and Northwest deserve. We are deeply humbled and appreciative of their support and thank them for their benevolence.”
The area around Mercy Hospital Southwest is projected to grow by seven percent in the next five years. With a growing community comes greater need for access to healthcare services west of Highway 99. “This project is critical and goes to the heart of our community,” states Dr. Ravi Patel, donor and founding director of Comprehensive Blood and Caner Center. “The southwest area is underserved and the project is going to be vital as it applies to cancer, emergency, and other necessary services. We need significant community support because it is only together that we can meet the needs of those who are deeply underserved.”
David and Catherine Gay, along with their family, have a long philanthropic legacy of supporting Mercy Hospital and advancing healthcare in Bakersfield. “Our family is pleased that we can play a small part in this overall project, and the enhanced services it will provide families in our community,” says, David Gay. “In turn, we are continuing the legacy of Mercy Hospital which started over a century ago by the Sisters of Mercy.”
These transformational gifts to the Friends of Mercy Foundation will be felt for generations to come. The Mercy Southwest Tower Expansion Project includes:
- 106 Private Patient Rooms
- A New 24 Room Intensive Care Unit
- 18 Private Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Rooms
- State-of-the-Art Cardiac Catheterization Suites
- Expanded Neurosurgery Capabilities
- 6 additional Operating Rooms
- Specialized Oncology and Orthopedic Units
- Expanded Emergency Department
- Additional Parking and Campus Redesign
Along with remodeled admitting, imaging, and public areas, the hospital plans to hire additional physicians, specialists, nurses, and other clinical and non-clinical staff, creating hundreds of new jobs to the area.
For additional information or questions, please contact Jessica Neeley, Communications Specialist, at [email protected].
About Mercy Hospital Bakersfield
Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Hospitals have a history of caring for our community that goes back more than 100 years. We provide a broad range of medical and surgical services including minimally invasive and outpatient options. Our family of services includes the area's only inpatient oncology unit, the Orthopedic, Spine, and Hand Center, Family Birth Center, the Lactation Support Center and retail store, and many others. Mercy Hospital Downtown is a 194-bed facility located in downtown Bakersfield. Mercy Hospital Southwest is a 78-bed facility and the only hospital located in the rapidly growing area west of Highway 99. Mercy Hospital is a member of Dignity Health and is a trusted community partner, serving residents of Bakersfield and Kern County with quality, compassionate care since 1910.
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Publish date:
Wednesday, August 21, 2019