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Press Releases and Media

Baltimore Raven Todd Heap Pledges $1 Million to Franklin Square
10/04/2007

Baltimore, MD – October 4, 2007 – Franklin Square Hospital Center announced today that Baltimore Raven Todd Heap has pledged $1 million in support of a new Pediatric Center that will be part of a future seven-story patient care tower.

“As parents of three children, my wife Ashley and I recognize the need for and value of quality pediatric care and services close at hand. When we learned about the breadth of pediatric services Franklin Square provides to the community, we knew this was a hospital we wanted to be associated with,” said Todd Heap, tight end for the Baltimore Ravens and a member of the Baltimore community since 2001. “I am extremely impressed and moved by the great care and compassion the hospital provides to children and families in the community.”

The new seven-story patient care tower will be adding 356,000 square feet to a hospital that already has the busiest emergency department in the state of Maryland with more than 100,000 visitors per year. A critical component of the project will be the new and improved Pediatric Emergency Department and Inpatient unit which will be renamed the Todd Heap Family Pediatric Center. Franklin Square was the first hospital in Baltimore County to combine pediatric and emergency services into one area. Since its opening in 2004, pediatric emergency department visits have increased 18 percent and admissions have increased almost 50 percent.

Heap’s generous donation will be celebrated at a groundbreaking for the new patient care tower at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 10, 2007. At the event, Franklin Square executives and board members will officially announce the launch of a $10 million capital campaign – which was jumpstarted by Heap’s generous donation. Area elementary school students will also join in the festivities by sharing their ideas and appreciation to Heap through artistic renderings of what a community hospital, like Franklin Square, means to them, their families and the community.

“While our employees and those who have used our pediatric services know the vital support Franklin Square provides, it is encouraging to have someone outside our community also believe in what we are doing,” stated Carl Schindelar, president of Franklin Square. “We have a longstanding commitment to the physical, emotional and social needs of area children. Todd’s donation will go far in helping support our mission to provide high-quality and comprehensive pediatric and family-centered care and services.”

As part of Heap’s initiatives to support area youth, he will also host several events that will benefit the Todd Heap Family Pediatric Center at Franklin Square.

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