Pat and Jim McClelland Pledge $1 Million Legacy Gift to Arkansas Children's

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (April 30, 2024) - Pat and Jim McClelland of Little Rock have committed a generous $1 million legacy gift to Arkansas Children's, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to advance the mission to champion children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow.

Planned gifts empower Arkansas Children’s donors to integrate charitable giving into their overall financial and estate planning, maximizing their philanthropic impact while optimizing financial benefits. Supporting Arkansas Children’s with a future gift is a powerful way to ensure that one's generosity endures and makes a lasting difference for the children of Arkansas and the region.

“Generations of donors have played a role in making Arkansas Children’s what it is today — one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals and the only pediatric health system in Arkansas,” said Fred Scarborough, executive vice president and chief development officer of Arkansas Children's. “Legacy gifts like the one from the McClellands provide support well into the future, ensuring Arkansas Children’s ability to deliver expert pediatric care for generations to come.”

This planned gift continues the community and philanthropic support the McClellands have provided to Arkansas and Arkansas Children's over the past several decades. Both Pat and Jim have faithfully served as board members for Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH), Arkansas Children's Northwest (ACNW), and the Arkansas Children's Foundation.

“Children are our future, and we are 100% committed to investing in the well-being and potential of the next generation,” said Pat McClelland.

Arkansas Children's is building a new generation of care with its multimillion-dollar expansion project, announced in 2023. The plan will expand bed capacity, transform inpatient and outpatient surgical approaches with the addition of an ambulatory surgery center, redesign clinical spaces to promote multidisciplinary care and create an inviting and accessible campus experience.

Over eight years, the health system’s historic expansion will require nearly $318 million in investment for construction at ACH in Little Rock and ACNW in Springdale. Phase one of construction on the ACH and ACNW campuses began earlier this year and is scheduled to be completed in 2026. To learn more about the expansion, visit archildrens.org/expansion. To support Arkansas Children's growth, visit archildrens.org/donate or call 800-880-7491 today.

"While we are excited about and focused on expanding access and services, children's hospitals are much more than buildings," said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkansas Children's. "In addition to caring and providing for sick children in emergency and chronic settings, we are committed to pioneering bold initiatives that raise the bar in pediatric care and establishing and strengthening partnerships that enhance the whole health of the child."

With a variety of planned giving options to choose from — whether it's a bequest in a will, a charitable trust, or another giving vehicle — legacy gifts can be tailored to accomplish a donor's specific needs and philanthropic goals. Learn more about supporting Arkansas Children’s expansion with a future gift at archildrens.org/giftplanning.

ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S

Arkansas Children's is the only health care system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' more than 700,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2023—2024): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology & Lung Surgery and Urology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.

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Photo credit: Karen E. Segrave