Mercy Hospital receives $1 million gift in memory of longtime donor to support children and families

Date: 03/12/2024

Northern Light Mercy Hospital has been gifted $1 million by the children of John and Patricia Klingenstein in honor of their mother. The donation establishes the Patricia Davis Klingenstein Pediatric Well-Being Fund at Mercy Hospital to provide its pediatric patients and their families with resources to thrive amid health and socio-economic challenges. 

The new fund celebrates and remembers the late Patricia D. Klingenstein, a longtime supporter of Mercy Hospital. The daughter of Mercy’s first chair of pediatrics, Mrs. Klingenstein honored her father in 2015 with a gift naming Mercy Hospital’s Dr. Harry E. Davis Pediatric Center.  More recently, Mrs. Klingenstein and her family supported Mercy’s campus expansion on Fore River Parkway. The hospital’s main wing is named in honor of Dr. Davis.

The Patricia D. Klingenstein Pediatric Well-Being Fund is a way for a third generation of Dr. Davis’s family to continue his legacy by providing support to Mercy’s most vulnerable patients. The fund will be used in several ways, including:

• Strengthening community outreach and education focused on key pediatric well-being issues.
• Supporting navigation of coordinated care to ensure ongoing pediatric wellness.
• Enhancing workforce development for critical positions and capital projects that support pediatric care at Mercy Hospital. 

“Mercy Hospital is grateful for this generous gift from the Klingenstein family,” said Mercy Hospital president, Charlie Therrien. “The Patricia D. Klingenstein Pediatric Well-Being Fund will help us increase access to care and reduce barriers to those challenged by social determinants of health. By providing support for our youngest patients and their families, we are building a foundation for future health.”

For more information on Dr. Harry E. Davis Pediatrics, click here.