Children’s National Hospital Receives Transformational Gift for Prenatal Pediatrics

Children’s National Hospital is proud to announce a transformational gift from Judy and Leo Zickler that will set a new standard of care for mothers and babies — particularly those in under-resourced communities. The gift names the Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute. 

“This extraordinary partnership builds on our national leadership in prenatal and newborn care. It will provide the strongest start for families across our community,” said Michelle Riley-Brown, MHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s National. “The Zicklers’ visionary commitment will elevate support for expectant mothers to improve outcomes and help high-risk babies thrive.”  

The investment funds three new initiatives that will enable Children’s National to:

• Establish a Continuum-of-Care Wellness Clinic for maternal mental health and mother-baby wellness. It will provide coordinated care for mothers with high-risk pregnancies and prioritize underserved families. This effort will ensure that more pregnant women receive robust, culturally sensitive mental and physical care throughout their journeys.

• Create a novel Continuum-of-Care Nursing Program that incorporates nursing care before a child is born and follows the family through the months and years after birth. This will transform the field of nursing and care delivery by creating a new subspecialty and training program focused on continuous care for mothers with high-risk pregnancies.

• Harness technology and innovation to ensure the best outcomes for high-risk babies. Children’s National will develop and deploy next-generation devices and approaches, including advanced MRI and neuromonitoring, to evaluate and treat mothers and babies before and after birth. This work will inform critical decisions about the safest timing for delivery and when to perform lifesaving procedures. 

Learn more about this transformational gift.