$25 million gift from Carol and Ned Spieker to transform care for mothers and babies

Carol and Ned Spieker have made a $25 million gift to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford to advance the transformation of the hospital’s West Building, which serves mothers and babies from our community and beyond.

“We care deeply about helping growing families in our community get the best possible care,” say Carol and Ned Spieker. “Our four children and 15 grandchildren were born at Packard Children’s Hospital. We feel fortunate that they are healthy and thriving, and we want to help ensure that future generations of moms and babies receive the support they need.”

The gift contributes to the modernization of the West Building, which opened in 1991 and is now being reimagined to facilitate care for pregnancies, deliveries, and newborns with health challenges – all within the Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services. This transformation aligns with the hospital’s reputation for excellence: Packard Children’s Hospital ranks among the top five programs in the nation in neonatology.

“I am inspired by my dear friends Carol and Ned and their deep commitment to our community,” says Susan Ford Dorsey, chair of the Board of Directors for the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. “They have always been leaders and champions for families. We are grateful for the incredible impact this gift will have to create a legacy of hope and healing for moms and babies that will last for generations to come.”

The vision for the West Building transformation includes state-of-the-art labor and delivery rooms and maternity rooms. In addition, the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) will be transformed from shared, open-bay units to private rooms where parents can stay overnight. The new NICU spaces will be a game-changer, lowering babies’ infection rates, shortening hospital stays, promoting family bonding, and more.

“The space didn’t quite match the phenomenal care we received,” says Cindy Goldberg, a Foundation board member who had two children receive care in Packard Children’s NICU more than 20 years ago. “It’s an extremely difficult situation when you are worried about your child’s health while dealing with all of the other chaos that’s going on around you.”

Parts of the transformation are already completed, including the new Axe and Blaise Wanstrath Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The Spiekers’ gift will help accelerate the next phase of construction in the West Building. The transformation is being completed in phases since the facility must remain operational throughout to serve mothers and babies.

This story was originally published by the Lucile Packard Foundation.