DALLAS, May 6, 2025 — Children’s Health℠ and UT Southwestern Medical Center announce a historic nine-figure grant from the Moody Foundation to support the new $5 billion pediatric campus in Dallas, which broke ground in October 2024. The new hospital will help meet the increasing demand for pediatric health care, research and training. The Moody Foundation’s transformational grant is the largest gift to date for this landmark project. In recognition of the generous support by the foundation, the hospital at the new Dallas pediatric campus will be named Moody Children’s Hospital upon completion in 2031.
“Naming the new hospital is a reflection of the deep trust and shared vision between the Moody Foundation, Children’s Health and UT Southwestern,” said Frances Moody-Dahlberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Moody Foundation. “Together, with Moody Children’s Hospital, we’re building more than a hospital – we’re building hope.”
For more than 80 years, the Moody Foundation has played a pivotal role in improving Texas communities, providing more than $2.6 billion in charitable funding through more than 5,500 grants. Guided by its mission of empowering Texas communities to thrive and prosper, the Moody Foundation has consistently supported education, social services, children’s needs and community development.
“Thanks to the Moody family’s incredible vision and philanthropy, we continue to push the boundaries of pediatric health care and innovation,” said Christopher J. Durovich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Health. “Their generosity will be reflected in the state-of-the-art care provided at our new Dallas campus, helping us redefine pediatric health care and transform the lives of children and families across North Texas and the country for decades to come.”
The Moody family has long championed innovation and education as catalysts for positive change. This grant is in addition to the more than $400 million the Moody Foundation has contributed previously to Children’s Health and the University of Texas System. Their decades of generosity continue to inspire
progress across the state and provide care for children.
“The Moody Foundation’s transformative investment in the well-being of future generations of children and youth marks a pivotal moment in our ability to reshape pediatric care across Texas, train the next generation of caregivers and accelerate vital discoveries that will continuously enhance our capacity to heal,” said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern Medical Center. “The Foundation’s commitment to advancing our new pediatric campus will have a lasting and meaningful impact on the patients and families we are privileged to serve.”
The region’s pediatric population is expected to double by 2050, underscoring the urgent need for expanded access to top-tier pediatric health care. With the support of the Moody Foundation, Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center are ushering in a new era of pediatric medical care, innovation and research, resulting in a healthier future for children as North Texas experiences remarkable growth.
“This extraordinary gift is yet another testament to the Moody family’s unwavering dedication to expanding access to high-quality health care for every child,” said Brent Christopher, President of Children’s Medical Center Foundation. “Their generosity will shape the future of medicine for kids across our community and far beyond. With the Moody Foundation grant, we now have reached half of the amount of community support needed to bring the new Dallas pediatric campus to life.” This grant from the Moody Foundation is the third, and largest, nine-figure gift to support the new Dallas pediatric campus project. This announcement follows the generous $100 million early gifts from the Pogue Foundation announced in May 2024 and the Rees-Jones Foundation announced in October 2024.
The new Dallas pediatric campus will be located in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District, directly across from UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. This project is a joint venture between Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center. It will serve as a collaborative center for innovation, academic research, training and the advancement of lifesaving technologies. To learn more, visit childrens.com/watchusgrow, utsouthwestern.edu, and give.childrens.com. For assets and resources for this announcement, please use this downloadable media kit.
About Children’s Medical Center Foundation
As the fundraising arm for Children’s Health, one of the largest and most prestigious nonprofit pediatric health systems in North Texas, the Children’s Medical Center Foundation provides philanthropic support through partnerships with individual donors, organizations and corporations.
These funds support Children’s Health with the enhancement of care, discovery of cures and building a healthier community across all Children’s Health campuses to fulfill the mission to make life better for children. All contributions to Children’s Medical Center Foundation directly impact patients and their families, ensuring the best experience, best care, and ultimately, a fighting chance to get back to being a kid again.
To learn more, visit give.childrens.com.
About Children’s Health
Children’s Health is the leading pediatric health care system in North Texas and has long been recognized as a leader in pediatric health. Children’s Health campuses include Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Children’s Medical Center Plano and multiple Children’s Health Specialty Centers. With its academic partner, UT Southwestern, Children’s Medical Center Dallas is consistently ranked the No. 1 children’s hospital in North Texas and among the nation’s best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Its commitment to excellence and providing outstanding care across all aspects of pediatrics has resulted in being ranked across all specialty programs for seven consecutive years, including Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Behavioral Health, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Neonatology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology.
In addition, Children’s Health nurses have received the Magnet® designation for the past 14 years, the highest honor for nursing excellence, and the health care system has been named a 2025 top place to work by Forbes and USA Today and one of the 150 Best Places to Work in Healthcare by Becker’s Hospital Review for 13 consecutive years. In addition, Children’s Health was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 for its pioneering model to train physicians to treat children’s mental health.
For more information and to support Children’s Health, visit childrens.com or like us on Facebook, follow Children’s Health on X, Instagram and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 23 members of the National Academy of Medicine and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The faculty of more than 3,200 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 140,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases and oversee nearly 5.1 million outpatient visits a year. Its alumni and former trainees comprise more than half of all physicians caring for patients in North Texas.
UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital is ranked as the No. 1 in Dallas-Fort Worth – the nation’s fourth-largest metro area. Eleven UT Southwestern medical specialties are nationally ranked, eight among the top 25 and three among the top 50. UTSW is among the top 5% of hospitals nationwide on quality measures.
The Medical Center includes 20 endowed centers, is a Rare Disease Center of Excellence for adults and children and is home to one of 57 designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation. UTSW is ranked No. 3 among global health care institutions for its published research and its medical school is among 16 schools ranked Tier 1 for research.
About the Moody Foundation
The Moody Foundation was established by W.L. Moody, Jr. and Libbie Shearn Moody in 1942 to share their good fortune and make a difference in the lives of the people of Texas. Since then, the Foundation has pledged and awarded more than $2.6 billion in grants throughout the state to organizations that have educated, healed, nurtured and inspired generations of Texans. The Moody Foundation continues with a board of three trustees: Frances Moody-Dahlberg, Ross Moody and Elizabeth “Elle” Moody. Learn more at MoodyF.org.
Children’s Health Media Contact:
Andrea Wittman
469-690-8686
Andrea.Wittman@childrens.com
UT Southwestern Media Contact:
Russell Rian
News@utsouthwestern.edu