Newswise — COLUMBUS, Ohio –Today, Nationwide Children’s Hospital honored its relationship with Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation through a special recognition ceremony and a permanent “animal friend” statue in the hospital.
The relationship between these organizations dates back decades. Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation have a long history of a deeply held interest in children’s well being. In support of this cause, Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation have provided, in aggregate, more than $100 million in funding and other support to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for advances in patient care, research in childhood injury prevention and development.
In 2006, the Nationwide Foundation committed $50 million to the hospital providing a path to expanded care and research capabilities as well as the development of a new downtown campus. In 2014, the Nationwide Foundation contributed $10 million establishing the Nationwide Foundation Pediatric Innovation fund focusing on innovative technologies that will allow doctors to improve the speed and accuracy of medical diagnosis, potentially saving lives of children around the world. An additional $10 million was contributed to the fund this year.
In 2015, Nationwide launched Make Safe Happen, a program dedicated to reducing accidental injuries around the home. Nationwide Children’s Hospital is part of this important effort. The experts in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have developed the Make Safe Happen app, an innovative app with the goals of empowering parents and helping to prevent childhood injury. The app is owned by Nationwide Children's Hospital and made possible through funding from Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital has also benefited from Nationwide’s sports marketing sponsorships. Combined efforts through the Memorial Tournament, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Legend’s Luncheon, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon, and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 NASCAR race at MidOhio have helped raise more than $3 million annually for the Hospital.
The importance of this relationship will be represented with a permanent “animal friend” statue hand-carved into a six-foot, wooden Eagle representative of Nationwide’s “N” and eagle logo. The Eagle will be located in the hospital’s newly renovated Heritage Hall and stands four feet wide, weighs more than 1100 pounds and is made from basswood. The Eagle will be the 24th animal friend added to the hospital’s collection spanning the halls of the hospital accessible by hospital staff, patients and visitors.
The Animal Friends, introduced in 2012 with the opening of the new main hospital, were created by the carvers at Carousel Works in Mansfield, Ohio. These whimsical friends are a favorite of patients, families, staff and visitors.
“We are proud to welcome the Eagle as both an Animal Friend Ambassador and official member of our patient care team,” said Dr. Steve Allen, CEO of Nationwide Children's Hospital. “Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation have been invaluable friends and supporters for more than 60 years, enabling Nationwide Children’s to become one of the premier elite destination pediatric hospitals and research institutions in the nation. This Eagle will bring joy to our patients and also serve as a tribute to what Nationwide’s transformational financial support has given to children in our community and around the world.”
“We are honored that Nationwide Children’s Hospital wanted to recognize our long-term relationship. Nationwide has a history of supporting the well-being of children, which makes our partnership on important initiatives like childhood injury research a natural fit,” said Steve Rasmussen, Nationwide CEO and Nationwide Foundation Chairman. “We are especially proud to support the work Nationwide Children’s is leading for children – some of the most important members of communities around the world.”
About Nationwide FoundationThe Nationwide Foundation is a nonprofit, private foundation, to which Nationwide companies are the donors. Founded in 1959, the Nationwide Foundation has committed more than $345 million since 2000 to help nonprofit organizations in communities where Nationwide associates and their families live and work. Just as Nationwide supports its customers in their moment of need, both Nationwide’s and the Nationwide Foundation’s involvement in its home communities is focused on supporting organizations that help people facing critical or immediate need.
About NationwideNationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the U.S. and is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, commercial, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; banking and mortgages; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.Nationwide, Nationwide Financial, On Your Side, and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
About Nationwide Children’s HospitalNationwide Children’s Hospital is nationally recognized as one of only 10 children's hospitals on U.S. News & World Report’s 2014-15 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll” and among the Top 10 on Parents magazine’s 2013 “Best Children’s Hospitals” list. One of the nation’s largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks, Nationwide Children’s provides care for infants, children and adolescents as well as adult patients with congenital disease. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s faculty train the next generation of pediatricians, scientists and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities in the U.S., supporting basic, clinical, translational and health services research at Nationwide Children’s. The Research Institute encompasses three research facilities totaling 525,000 square feet dedicated to research. More information is available at http://www.NationwideChildrens.org/Research.
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