Pioneering genomic medicine center at Children’s Mercy benefits from Black & Veatch fundraiser

Black & Veatch today hosted the 23rd edition of its Charity Golf Tournament in support of Children’s Mercy. Proceeds from the tournament and company giving totaling $350,000 were donated to the renowned children’s hospital, part of a five-year pledge of $2.1 million made in 2015 to help expand services at the hospital’s Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine. The annual golf event and company donations have now surpassed $4.1 million since its inception.

The Center, dedicated to being the leading global referral center for the diagnosis, molecular understanding and treatment of inherited childhood diseases, is the first of its kind. Through the support of the Black & Veatch Foundation and other organizations, hundreds of families affected by unspecified inherited diseases are referred to and treated by Children's Mercy each year.

“Thanks to the generous support of Black & Veatch and its many supporters, we are now able to incorporate state-of-the-art genomic medicine testing into the evaluation of children with cancer at Children’s Mercy,” said Erin Guest, MD, Director of the Children’s Mercy Kansas City Cancer Genomics Program. “The information we learn from these genomics studies helps us to personalize each child’s treatment. And, when patients and their families give us permission, we also utilize the data to perform research into the causes of cancer and to discover new targets for treatments.”

The 23rd Annual Charity Golf Tournament was at the Shadow Glen Golf Club in Olathe, Kansas. All proceeds from the event go directly to Children’s Mercy.

“We look forward each year to bringing our clients and professionals together to help Children’s Mercy Hospital further its work to deliver the latest advances in pediatric medicine,” said Steve Edwards, Chairman and CEO of Black & Veatch. “We cherish this opportunity to give back to a genuine pillar of the Kansas City community, and we appreciate those who join us in supporting the hospital’s mission.”

Past fundraising from the tournament has also supported the construction and renovations for Children’s Mercy East in Eastern Jackson County and Children’s Mercy Broadway. Support has also been provided to the CARE Clinic, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment, robotic surgery, neonatal intensive care nursery, emergency department and urgent care centers.

Editor’s Notes:

  • The Black & Veatch Foundation serves as the platform for participation by the company and its professionals in supporting a variety of philanthropic organizations and programs worldwide.
  • Since its beginning, Black & Veatch and its professionals have been actively involved in supporting community needs. The Foundation builds on the company's history of community involvement by globally expanding Black & Veatch's overall philanthropic role, involvement and impact in our communities.

About Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Founded in 1897, Children’s Mercy is one of the nation’s top pediatric medical centers. With not-for-profit hospitals in Missouri and Kansas, and numerous specialty clinics in both states, Children’s Mercy provides the highest level of care for children from birth through the age of 21. U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly ranked Children’s Mercy as one of “America's Best Children's Hospitals.” For the fourth time in a row, Children’s Mercy has achieved Magnet nursing designation, awarded to fewer than seven percent of all hospitals nationally, for excellence in quality care. Its faculty of more than 700 pediatric subspecialists and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. Thanks to generous philanthropic and volunteer support, Children’s Mercy provides medical care to every child who passes through its doors, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. For more information about Children’s Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2018 were US$3.5 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and in social media.