Children's Mercy honored to dedicate new Black & Veatch Building
Children's Mercy today unveiled the new Black & Veatch Building in recognition of a five-year pledge for $2.1 million from Black & Veatch to help the hospital's Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine expand services to include an increased focus on oncology. The Center, whose mission is to be the leading global referral center for the diagnosis, molecular understanding and treatment of inherited childhood diseases, is the first of its kind in a pediatric hospital.
"Precision medicine and genomics have been hailed as the future of healthcare, and the team in our genome center is continually identifying ways to deliver diagnoses with increased speed and accuracy," said Charlie Roberts, MD, Executive Medical Director and Executive Vice President, Children's Mercy. "Thanks to the support of great partners like Black & Veatch and their Foundation, children and families in Kansas City and around the region have a head start on getting answers - and ideally treatment - for often elusive genetic diseases."
The Black & Veatch Building is located at 23rd Street and Holmes on the hospital's downtown Adele Hall Campus in Kansas City and houses office space for researchers, physicians and staff of Children's Mercy's Division of Hematology & Oncology.
"Every day, the doctors, nurses and supporting staff of Children's Mercy combine world-class care with a human touch to bring compassion and hope to young people and their families," said Steve Edwards, Chairman and CEO of Black & Veatch. "We are honored to share in the mission of this great institution, and we look forward to a long partnership that will keep our community healthy and strong."
Through the support of Black & Veatch's Building a World of Difference Foundation and other organizations, hundreds of families affected by unspecified inherited diseases are referred to and treated by Children's Mercy each year.
For nearly 20 years, funds raised through Black & Veatch's Charity Golf tournament have been designated for a specific area of need at Children's Mercy. More than $3 million has been provided to the hospital's CARE Clinic, magnetic imaging (MRI) equipment, robotic surgery, neonatal intensive care nursery, emergency department urgent care centers and construction and renovations for Children's Mercy East and Children's Mercy Broadway.