A retired West Virginia University-trained radiologist and his wife donated $100,000 to the new WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital.
The gift from Dr. and Mrs. John Mikita, of Hilton Head, S.C., will support a general radiology room on the hospital’s fourth floor, a diagnostic hub that will also house laboratory, CT, MRI, ultrasound and other imaging resources. The general radiology room will be named for the Mikitas in recognition of their gift.
“Our success is due to my training and opportunities from WVU, and my wife and l are glad to help the University and Children’s Hospital, especially in medical imaging,” John Mikita said.
The Mikitas’ contribution supports the “Grow Children’s” capital campaign, which seeks to raise $60 million for a new children’s hospital that will provide comprehensive healthcare services for kids and families within a dedicated state-of-the-art facility. The 150-bed, nine-story hospital is under construction next to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, which houses existing WVU Medicine Children’s services on its sixth floor. Slated for completion in 2021, the new facility will include:
- A dedicated emergency department
- Operating rooms, cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology and endoscopy facilities
- A 34-bed Pediatric Acute Care Unit, including six beds available for hematology/oncology
- A 27-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, including six beds available for epilepsy monitoring
- A 50-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- A 30-bed Birthing Center
- A medical office building
- Cancer Institute, Heart and Vascular Institute, and Maternal-Fetal Medicine clinics
- Dental and eye procedure rooms
- A Family Resource Center
“We are so appreciative of the Mikitas’ generous gift,” Amy L. Bush-Marone, chief operating officer at WVU Medicine Children’s, said. “Medical imaging plays a vital role in diagnosis and treatment for every patient, impacting virtually everyone who comes through our doors to ensure they receive the very best care West Virginia has to offer.”
John Mikita received his M.D. degree from WVU in 1968 and practiced in the Pittsburgh area before his retirement. Previous gifts by Mikita and his wife, Linda, supported computer technology at the David and Jo Ann Shaw Center for Simulation Training and Education for Patient Safety (STEPS) and the purchase of an Anatomage Table, a virtual dissection tool that facilitates in-depth study of human anatomy.
All donations were made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.