Providence to receive $1.1B from Nike co-founder to build women’s health hospital in Oregon

Oregon billionaires Phil and Penny Knight committed $1.1 billion to the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and the Providence Heart Institute to build Oregon’s first hospital dedicated to women’s health, the medical center announced Tuesday. Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and his wife, have supported the institute for more than a decade, previously giving it more than $200 million, including a $75 million gift earlier this year.

Along with creating the new women’s hospital, their new donation will help the medical center expand cardiovascular care and clinical research and training programs for the heart institute’s medical personnel. It will also make it easier to integrate patient care across the medical center. “Women’s health needs change throughout life, and too often patients are asked to navigate multiple specialties and care settings on their own,” Ray Moreno, the medical center’s CEO, said in a statement.

“The Knights’ gift is an opportunity to bring these resources together, expanding access for women across Oregon and creating a strong foundation to bridge care gaps in women’s health.” Philanthropy to fill the gaps The donation is particularly significant because it comes at a moment when U.S. hospitals are seeing far more pregnant patients who are also managing chronic health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, addiction, and behavioral and mental health issues. It also lands at the same time healthcare organizations are struggling with the impact of government funding cuts.

“Resources are scarce, and healthcare is increasingly looking to philanthropy to fill in the gaps,” Dan Oseran, the heart institute’s executive medical director, told the Chronicle. “A gift like this reduces that friction a little bit and provides the ability to do things we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.” Medicine and medical research have been among the top causes capable of attracting mega-philanthropy ever since the birth of modern philanthropy in the late 19th century, said Benjamin Soskis, a historian whose work focuses on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. “They are some of the few institutions that can reliably absorb big-dollar donations,” Soskis said.

“At a moment when there is more and more talk about the wealthy warehousing fortunes, the Knights have updated a standby of the traditional philanthropic playbook to provide a model of getting a lot of… Oregon’s first hospital focused on women’s health will be built on the campus of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland.

(Providence Illustration) Providence will receive $1.1 billion — one of the largest gifts ever pledged to a U.S. healthcare institution — from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny. The donation will allow the nonprofit health network to build Oregon’s first hospital focused on women’s health, increase support for cardiovascular services and improve patient care.