Priscilla and David O’Donnell make historic $9 million commitment to Children’s of Mississippi

During an early visit to the hospital, Priscilla and David O’Donnell toured patient care areas inside older facilities, a moment that left a lasting impression.

“It just did not look like an environment that was conducive for patients or families,” said David O’Donnell.

That experience helped shape what would become one of the most significant philanthropic commitments in the hospital’s history.

“We’ve always believed that when you’ve been blessed with opportunities in life, you have a responsibility to give back in a meaningful way,” the O’Donnells said in a joint statement.

“Supporting Children’s of Mississippi felt like one of the clearest ways we could do that.”

Now, the O’Donnells have made a $4 million gift to support pediatric cardiology at Children’s of Mississippi. The commitment establishes a permanent endowment to support the Children’s heart program in perpetuity. The O’Donnells' support also includes an additional $5 million gift to aid future growth at the hospital.

In recognition of the gift, the Children’s Heart Center will be named the Children’s of Mississippi Priscilla and David O’Donnell Heart Center.

Dr. Mary Taylor, Suzan B. Thames Chair and CEO of Children’s of Mississippi, said the gift will have a lasting impact on children and families across the region.

“The O’Donnells’ extraordinary generosity represents a transformational investment in the future of pediatric heart care in Mississippi,” Taylor said. “Their support will strengthen our ability to care for children with complex cardiac conditions, expand access to specialized services and continue building a nationally competitive pediatric heart program for families across our state.”

The O’Donnells’ support builds on years of investment in pediatric heart care at the children’s hospital, including previous gifts supporting the Campaign for Children’s of Mississippi creating the Priscilla and David O’Donnell Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Cardiac Wing and the renovation of the cardiac medical-surgical step-down unit in the Batson Tower.

“We are deeply grateful for Priscilla and David O’Donnell’s commitment to Mississippi children and families. Their thoughtful and deeply intentional approach to philanthropy is transforming care for many of our smallest and sickest patients,” said Suzanne Crell, senior director of principal gifts at University of Mississippi Medical Center. “From their early support of the Campaign for Children’s of Mississippi creating the cardiac wing in the new pediatric intensive care unit, to the cardiac step-down unit and now the heart center endowment, each gift has built upon the last to strengthen the continuum of pediatric heart care at Children’s of Mississippi.”

For the O’Donnells, the decision to invest in pediatric heart care was rooted in both impact and perspective.

“Pediatric heart care became especially meaningful to us because there is something uniquely powerful about helping children,” they said. “They have their whole lives ahead of them. If you can help give a child a healthy future, you’re impacting generations, not just one life.”

The couple said creating an endowment was a deliberate decision focused on long-term impact.

“We chose to help create an endowment for pediatric cardiology because we wanted this gift to last,” they said. “Long-term support for doctors, technology, research and patient care creates lasting impact.”

Dr. Scott Simpson, division chief of pediatric cardiology, said the investment will help strengthen and expand specialized pediatric heart care across the state.

“An investment of this magnitude allows us to continue building a high-functioning, comprehensive pediatric heart program capable of caring for both straightforward and highly complex cases,” Simpson said. “It strengthens our ability to provide exceptional care close to home for children and families across Mississippi.”

Simpson said congenital heart disease is the most common congenital condition affecting children, occurring in approximately one out of every 100 births.

“In several areas of pediatric cardiac care, including cardiac critical care, electrophysiology, heart failure management and cardiac transplantation, our team includes some of the only specialists in Mississippi with advanced training in those fields,” Simpson said. “Importantly, we are able to provide care at a level comparable to leading programs in surrounding states, allowing families to receive exceptional care without having to leave Mississippi.”

The Children’s of Mississippi Priscilla and David O’Donnell Heart Center cares not only for children with complex congenital heart conditions, but also for children with heart failure requiring heart transplantation. Many of these patients will need lifelong care provided by a specialized multidisciplinary team.

Alicon Johnson, director of Children’s Heart and Transplant Services, said the Children’s Heart Center continues to expand access to highly specialized cardiac care throughout the state.

“As the parent of a child having received cardiac care both here at Children’s of Mississippi and at a larger institution out of state, the care provided here at Children’s is personal,” Johnson said. “You are not just another surgery, another patient or another medical record number.”

Johnson said the O’Donnells’ gift creates opportunities to further expand programs and services for children and families.

“It allows us to dream of bigger and better for our patients,” Johnson said. “It allows us to expand on the excellent care we provide every day.”

Backed by the state’s only academic medical center and Mississippi’s only children’s hospital, the Children’s of Mississippi Priscilla and David O’Donnell Heart Center provides comprehensive cardiovascular specialty care for patients from fetal diagnosis through adolescence. The program delivers care through outreach clinics across the state and includes specialized cardiac intensive care services, the state’s only children’s cardiac operating room and cardiac catheterization lab and highly trained multidisciplinary cardiac teams.

The O’Donnells said access to care close to home was one of the most meaningful aspects of supporting the Heart Center.

“When a child is critically ill, families should not have to leave the state, leave their support systems or add financial strain just to get the care they need,” they said.

When families receive care through the Children’s of Mississippi Priscilla and David O’Donnell Heart Center, the couple hopes the impact of that investment is immediately felt.

“We hope they feel peace, confidence and hope,” they said. “We want them to know they are not alone, and that world-class care is available right here at home.”

While the O’Donnells have not yet met many of the children and families who will directly benefit from their gifts, they said seeing past projects come to life has been deeply meaningful.

“It is one thing to make a contribution; it is another to walk through the doors and see children being cared for, families being comforted and lives being saved,” they said.

“There is hope, and there are people who care deeply about your journey,” they said. “You are not walking through this alone.”