Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns in San Diego has announced a $5 million gift from the Alexander and Eva Nemeth Foundation in support of two programs focused on giving at-risk infants a healthy start in life.

The gift from the largest benefactor in Sharp Mary Birch history will support the hospital’s Neonatal Research Institute and the Nemeth NICU Follow-Up Clinic, which bears the foundation’s name in recognition of a $1 million gift it made in support of the clinic in 2017. Scheduled to open in November in a newly expanded location across from the hospital campus, the clinic works to promote the growth and success of preterm babies through assessments, interventions, and focused follow-up services. Focused on the discovery of leading-edge treatments and practices that improve the lives of all newborns, NRI has sponsored nearly three dozen research trial involving more than sixteen hundred infants since it was launched in 2013.

“We are happy to donate this gift to support work at the Neonatal Research Institute and all of early intervention programs that provide comprehensive treatment for babies born too soon — those are the tiniest and most vulnerable in our society,” said Nemeth Foundation executive director Teresa Castigilioner.