Childrens Hospital Gets Record $38-Million Estate Gift

A local philanthropist donated $38.3 million for research at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in what is believed to be the largest estate gift ever to a U.S. children’s hospital, officials said Wednesday.

The donation came from the estate of Fern McAlister, who died in February at 93, said Walter Noce Jr., the hospital’s president and chief executive.

In the late 1960s, Harold and Fern McAlister of Hancock Park created two trusts with the intention of donating a portion of that money to the hospital after their deaths. Harold McAlister, a successful businessman, gave about $9 million when he died in 1981.

Including interest earned on the gifts, the couple’s donations are valued at more than $100 million.

“Childrens Hospital has become an international leader in pediatric health care due in no small measure to Mr. and Mrs. McAlister’s thoughtful vision three decades ago,” Noce said.

Mary Duque, Harold McAlister’s sister, was the inspiration for the couple’s donation, Noce said.

Duque helped raise more than $100 million for the hospital over 40 years and for three decades she served on the board of directors. She often volunteered more than 10 hours a day until her death in 1990.

Donations to children’s hospitals have risen dramatically over the last decade, according to the Woodmark Group, a nonprofit organization in Seattle that encourages gifts to such institutions. The group reported that 21 children’s hospitals in North America raised an average of $23 million each in 2000 compared with $7.2 million in 1990, when the organization was founded, said Douglas Picha, Woodmark’s chairman.

The average donation total received last year by hospitals that are not children’s facilities was $1 million, Picha said.

Philanthropic efforts are critical in the health care industry.

“The amount of money we receive for patient care doesn’t even cover the full cost of clinical care,” Noce said. “There is nothing from that revenue source that could be used for research. Our research mission is totally dependent on philanthropies.”

Fern McAlister wanted the money to be used for basic and clinical research. The hospital’s plans include expanding current programs for cancer, gene transfers, organ transplants and diabetes. The money will also be used to recruit visiting scholars for research.

Harold McAlister’s gift has been used to fund 19 specialty programs.

“Harold started us on that road to becoming a major pediatric research institution, and Fern will allow us to continue on that road,” Noce said.