Riley Campaign to ‘Double Down’ on Research Efforts

Wade Clapp is the chairman of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Riley Hospital. (photo courtesy of the IU School of Medicine)

The chairman of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine says the Riley Children’s Foundation’s $175 million campaign will provide a new revenue stream for a much-needed expansion. Wade Clapp, who is also physician-in-chief at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, says the hospital has a relatively small endowment when compared to larger children’s hospitals in the U.S. that provide similar services.

Clapp says the funds from the initiative will support an expansion of research at the hospital and will also have a major focus on infant mortality, as well as provide support for the hospital’s clinical operations for which there isn’t another source of revenue. He says that includes palliative care, child life services, paying for school teachers and social work services. 

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Clapp said the hospital has made great strides in implementing various innovative services to serve children throughout the state and is now poised to double down on those efforts.

"But it does take money to be able to recruit that talent and continue to bring it to Indiana," said Clapp. "We want to have a children’s hospital where the state-of-the-art care to children in Indiana is comparable to anywhere. The way to continue to achieve that and to continue to provide therapies for diseases where there’s none is to continue to advance the research mission and the foundation has been tremendously supportive of us in achieving that goal."

The foundation says the campaign will support three high-priority programs: Pediatric Research and Patient Care, Maternity and Newborn Health, and Family Support Programs. The campaign has already raised $121 million and hopes to reach its goal by June 2020.

You can learn more about "Be the Hope NOW: The Campaign for Kids" by clicking here.