A $40 million donation, the largest single benevolent gift to any Children’s Hospital Colorado statewide, will fund a major expansion at the Colorado Springs campus in the Briargate neighborhood, officials announced Thursday.

The infusion of funding from a national charitable foundation will add more inpatient beds, increase the number of surgeries, enlarge the emergency department to reduce wait times and accommodate more patients, and improve ancillary outpatient buildings, such as its behavioral health center.

The hospital system’s southern Colorado region president, Greg Raymond, called the contribution an “extraordinary and transformative gift.”

“It’s an exciting day. This is a reflection on our community,” he told staff members who happened to be celebrating an annual “Employee Appreciation Day” on Thursday.

The donation is being provided as the result of an invitation for the hospital to become a member of the Golisano Children’s Alliance, a family foundation that supports pediatric health care across the nation.

The local pediatric hospital is one of six in the nation to receive a collective $225 million from the Golisano alliance in the most recent round of funding.

In recognition of the contribution, the name of the facility is being changed to Children’s Hospital Colorado, Golisano Children’s Hospital, Colorado Springs. Dignitaries unveiled a sign bearing the new name at the event.

Called “one of the most significant milestones” for the seven-year-old hospital, the funding “launches an exciting new chapter for pediatric health care in southern Colorado,” said Jennifer Roe Darling, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation.

“This announcement reflects extraordinary confidence in our mission, our community and the future of health care for children throughout the region,” she said.

Golisano is the founder of Paychex, a payroll and human resources services company, and has owned several sports teams and a fiber internet business in Rochester, N.Y.

Colorado Springs hospital leaders researched Golisano’s charitable foundation, shared the local facility’s vision and were asked to apply for grant consideration, Raymond said.

Site visits followed in the spring, with notification of the award coming recently.

“Things that jumped out were the unique attributes of our community and the unique families we take care of from urban and rural communities, the military families, our regional reach, kids from mountain communities and from our native populations,” Raymond said.

“They were impressed by our community partnerships and leadership of the community that supports a ‘Top 10’ children’s hospital in our own backyard (from U.S. News & World Report 2025-2026).”

From personal experience with pediatric hospitals with members of his family, founder Tom Golisano has awarded 21 pediatric hospitals in the United States with substantial contributions totaling $755 million.

Locally, Golisano wants to see improved access and services for military families and the growth of access and services regionwide, to treat sick kids from far and near closer to home, Raymond said.

Expansion plans are being developed but have not yet been solidified, Raymond said. He expects the work to take four to five years to be completed.

The hospital currently has 115 beds, which in crunch periods can grow to 128 beds.

But more are needed, Raymond said, as demand continues to rise.

Since opening in 2019, emergency department volumes have tripled, and the number of children served annually has more than doubled, he said.

In addition to employees, board members and community donors attended Thursday’s announcement.

Board trustee Jim Johnson, CEO of GE Johnson Construction, said Golisano is the definition of philanthropy, using his money in real time to increase access and affordability for health care for all children.

“That $40 million will stay here, and he basically says it’s your hospital, you know what your community needs — allocate it as you see fit. The dollars are an investment, and you couldn’t find a better community to invest in.”

Trustee Sally Hybl said the donation will accelerate the expansion project, which has been envisioned since the hospital opened.

“We placed every brick in building this hospital because children deserve the very best care regardless of where they live,” she said. “We know philanthropy will be central to making it happen.”

Raymond said Thursday’s news is “just the beginning.”