Cleveland-based University Hospitals has announced a $34.5 million gift to UH Rainbow Babies & Children's from the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation to help ensure that all children in Northeast Ohio have access to high-quality care.

The largest gift ever awarded by the foundation and received by UH Rainbow Babies & Children will be used by the hospital to accelerate its efforts to expand access points to primary and specialty care, recruit top specialists, support advocacy and education on topics ranging from lead paint remediation to mental and behavioral health services, and advance research on new therapies. A portion of the gift already has been used to establish the Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation Chair in Leadership and Innovation, with Patti DePompei, president of UH Rainbow Babies & Children's and UH MacDonald Women's hospitals, as the inaugural recipient of the chair.

Established in 1887 by a group of Cleveland women as the "Circle of Kings Daughters" to raise funds to create a place where sick children could recover from their illnesses, the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation advocates for and helps support UH Rainbow Babies & Children's.

"In addition to direct patient care, UH Rainbow is working to eliminate health disparities across Northeast Ohio by proactively addressing social determinants of health," said DePompei. "The Rainbow Foundation has been a ready partner, particularly with the opening of the UH Rainbow Center for Women & Children in MidTown, allowing us to serve more families in our community than ever before and offer services beyond traditional medical care."