The Stein Brenner family, owners of the New York Yankees, have donated $5 million to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa.
Members of the family and hospital staff will be at George M. Steinbrenner Field today for a ceremony commemorating the donation before the Yankees’ spring training game with Toronto.
Baycare, which runs the hospital, will use the money to expand emergency services, add treatment rooms and redesign the hospital’s entrance and lobby. Some will also be directed to purchasing advanced diagnostic equipment and fund specialized training programs for medical staff.
This gift continues Stein Brenner’s legacy of support for children’s hospitals, just over a mile away from the Yankees’ spring training home. The hospital nominated the Emergency and Trauma Center in honor of its family after funding for the construction in 1991.
The gift was motivated by the anxiety that George Steinbrenner felt would take him to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He didn’t want his children to be exposed to the trauma of metropolitan ER, he told the Tampa Bay Times that year.
“The Steinbrenner family has been an important part of the family at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital for generations, and their unwavering commitment to our mission continues to change lives,” said Kate Sawa, president of the St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Their legacy of generosity will continue to have a major impact on Tampa Bay and beyond for years to come. We are deeply grateful for their kindness and cannot fully appreciate the dedication to the health and well-being of the children in our community.”
This latest donation will be welcomed by Baycare, who has set out to plan to completely rebuild the hospital on Dr. West’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard’s existing campus by 2030.
The new hospital, known as St. Joseph’s Pagidi Parthi Children’s Hospital, honors a $50 million donation from Tampa entrepreneur and healthcare investor Sid Pagidi Patty and his wife, Endodontic Doctor Ami Pagidi Patty.
The current facility was established in 1990 and has 219 beds. According to Baycare, in 2022, it handled around 35,000 emergency room visits, 13,000 births and about 4,900 outpatient surgeries.