Earlier this month, Boston Children’s Hospital received a $100 million donation earmarked for pediatric behavioral health, the largest gift in the hospital’s history.
The “transformational donation,” as the hospital called it, was given by Rob and Karen Hale, a billionaire Quincy couple known widely for their philanthropy.
The $100 million will help fund a state-of-the-art $640 million pediatric psych hospital amid a capacity crisis for mental health beds. It will offer both inpatient and outpatient services on the campus of Franciscan Children’s in Brighton.
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In February, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission released new research showing 47% of children ultimately admitted to a psychiatric bed in an acute care hospital in 2024 had to stay in an emergency department for more than 24 hours prior — part of a larger behavioral health boarding crisis that has persisted for years across the state’s emergency rooms.
As planned, the new Brighton facility will nearly double Boston Children’s current mental health bed capacity.
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Hospital officials say the facility and its integrated model “will shift how children are treated in Boston and around the world” when it comes to behavioral health care.
Kevin B. Churchwell, the hospital’s CEO, said the Hales’ gift “reflects extraordinary compassion and a shared belief that every child deserves not only physical health but also mental wellness.”
The new facility, set to be named after the Hales, will feature 116 beds and house additional services beyond inpatient psych care, the Boston Globe recently reported. Those include a partial hospital program and intensive outpatient program, a 14-bedroom acute treatment program, a dental suite, four operating rooms, a pharmacy, outpatient rehabilitation programs and five outdoor play spaces.
Boston Children’s expects to break ground next year, with a hopeful opening by 2029.
“Every day we see the courage of children who are struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges — and the love of the families who stand beside them,” said Stacy Drury, psychiatrist-in-chief at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Karen and Rob Hale’s incredible gift will help us meet those families with the care, compassion, and innovation they deserve. It will allow us to heal in ways that were never before thought possible.”
Rob Hale is the president and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, a co-founder of Copley Equity Partners and a minority co-owner of the Boston Celtics.
In 2022, the couple, who both serve on several boards of directors, donated about $1 million a week to a variety of small nonprofits.
In a statement this month, Rob Hale said Boston Children’s is “needed to turn the tide on mental health for kids everywhere and for the generations to come.”
Karen Hale called this a “critical moment so all children and families can feel supported, understood, and hopeful about the future.”