THE PLAYERS officially announced Oct. 21 that it has pledged to match up to $2 million in donations to help in the redesign and expansion of Nemours Children’s Health Jacksonville’s center for cancer and blood disorders.
The partnership between THE PLAYERS and Nemours is part of the Hand in Hand capital campaign in place to help raise money for the $11.3 million project moving forward.
“THE PLAYERS’ generous commitment to wholly reimagine the spaces where children receive life-threatening treatments is truly remarkable,” said Dr. Larry Moss, president and CEO of Nemours Children’s Health. “Their mission, like ours, is a commitment to understanding the needs of our entire community and investing where it’s needed most. We see THE PLAYERS as partners and not just donors. It’s a much deeper relationship.”
While the fundraising efforts continue, more than $9 million has been raised to date and construction is underway with completion of the project scheduled to be summer 2023.
“Donors in the Hand in Hand campaign are not just investing in examine rooms and windows and more sufficient waiting areas, but they are investing in our future,” Moss said. “Together we will build a new and more welcoming home for children while they receive the life-changing care that they need.”
The newly redesigned and expanded facility will be called THE PLAYERS Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, as a recognition by Nemours of the generous gift offered up by THE PLAYERS.
“We’re approaching our 50th playing of THE PLAYERS, and one of the first things that Deane Beman (former PGA Tour commissioner) really put forward as part of his promise to the community was that this (THE PLAYERS) tournament was a public trust,” said Jared Rice, THE PLAYERS Championship Executive Director. “What that means is that we’re going to leave the community in better shape than when we started, and part of that is through giving back.”
One of those children that have received care at the current center is Rhett Fischer, and he was present at the press conference along with his family.
Rhett’s father John spoke about the difference the renovations will make for not only those receiving treatment but for their loved ones as well is something that is a major step forward in his eyes.
According to Fischer, hospitals are not typically designed with children in mind and the sterile nature of the atmosphere can create few options for enjoyment and escape, which is what he has found is exactly what children and families with cancer are searching for.
The Fischer family moved from Washington, D.C. to the First Coast in search of better care and Nemours has offered them that opportunity.
“When Rhett was treated in Washington, D.C. we just felt like a number,” Fischer said. “I knew Nemours was a place that not only would treat my son, but where we would be treated like a family.”
The renovation project will include a designated isolation waiting room and clinic areas for post bone marrow transplant patients, whose immune system is severely compromised.
Waiting rooms and play areas will also be laid out with the differing needs of patients from teens to toddlers in mind.
“Our center will be a welcoming place for children and their families with healing views and where the implements of childhood distract from the difficulties,” Moss said. “It will be a place that infuses joy and will give kids something to look forward to while coming in for their repeated bouts of therapy.”
Those interested in participating in THE PLAYERS’ matching gift campaign can go to Nemours.org/handinhand.
