Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center

(recently renamed and formerly known as Schneider Children's Hospital)

Vice President of Development

New Hyde Park, NY
September 2010

The leadership of Cohen Children's Medical Center (CCMC), New York State's largest provider of pediatric health services, and the leadership of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (North Shore-LIJ), the largest integrated healthcare network in New York State, of which CCMC is a member, seek to engage a Vice President of Development to join them in fully developing the philanthropic potential of CCMC, a jewel of this health care system.

This new position, a senior member of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System Foundation (Foundation) has CCMC as its sole focus and will work directly with the Senior Vice President of Children's Services and Chief of Staff of CCMC, Dr. Arthur Klein, who oversees both hospital operations and academics. Joining CCMC in 2009, Dr. Klein embraces philanthropy as a key component to his vision for CCMC excellence. Dr. Klein, together with North Shore-LIJ's CEO, Michael Dowling, and support of the Foundation, had inspired philanthropic support for CCMC at an unprecedented level, receiving multiple seven-figure gifts and a transformative gift this spring from the Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation. CCMC was formerly known as the Schneider Children's Hospital.

While enjoying a location in New Hyde Park that is a short commute to the center of Manhattan , CCMC is removed enough from other esteemed pediatric medical centers to require its own exceptional children's hospital – to meet the needs of the region's children through world class care that is truly locally available. Supporting this vision for nationally prominent medical excellence is North Shore-LIJ's commitment to physician training and to research. Its partnership with Hofstra University has produced the first new allopathic medical school established in New York since 1963 – Hofstra Medical School . Target date for admission of its charter class is September 2011. The building blocks for launching the Medical School include North Shore-LIJ's medical school affiliate clinical and graduate medical education programs, the extensive research conducted at North Shore-LIJ's Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and Hofstra University 's academic infrastructure.

As a senior member of the Foundation, the Vice President of Development will report to Kevin J. Dwyer, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer. The mandate for this position is to build a high performing advancement team, with particular emphasis on expanding CCMC's major gifts program, emphasizing CCMC prospects in the 6- to 8-figure range. The Vice President of Development will manage and expand a small team. This dedicated CCMC team, along with all employees of the Foundation, is part of a fully integrated Foundation program. With over 40 employees the Foundation provides centralized prospect review and support for events, annual giving, planned giving, communications and public relations, operations, and research.

The Organization

Michael J. Dowling, North Shore-LIJ's President and CEO since 2002, joined North Shore-LIJ in 1995 and was the health system's Executive Vice President and COO. The system has thrived under his care.

Ralph A. Nappi, President of the Foundation since 1991, is also a former Chairman for the Board of Trustees of the Health System, a member of the Executive Committee for the Board of Trustees, and Chairman of The Feinstein Institute of Medical Research. The Foundation has raised almost $1 billion since North Shore merged with Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 1997.

Founded 13 years ago, North Shore-LIJ today is a $6 billion healthcare network, the nation's second largest non-profit secular health system. It has over 5,000 beds and a total workforce of about 42,000 employees.

North Shore-LIJ operates 15 hospitals, including its most recently acquired, Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan , as well as long-term care facilities and home health agencies. It employs 7,500 physicians, 9,500 nurses, and many other healthcare professionals dedicated to providing compassionate care in a safe and comfortable environment using the latest technology and treatment methods.

Feinstein Institute of Medical Research represents the system's research depth. With more than 800 scientists and investigators conducting research in a wide array of specialties such as pediatrics, oncology, obstetrics/gynecology, immunology, and genetics, the Institute's annual research funding is nearly $50M.

As the Long Island campus for New York University School of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, CCMC offers one of the country's most effective and prestigious pediatric intern and residency programs. Today, CCMC is taking medical education an exciting step forward with the 2011 opening of the Hofstra University School of Medicine partnership with North Shore-LIJ Health. By providing pediatric education for the new medical school's students, CCMC will have the opportunity to form strong relationships with the next generation of world-class pediatric physicians and researchers.

Among North Shore-LIJ's major initiatives, of particular significance to CCMC is the building of a new women's hospital that will provide a focus on women and pediatrics at both campuses.

During its 25 th anniversary in 2008, CCMC (then operating as Schneider Children's Hospital) celebrated the expansion of its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with the opening of 24 new NICU beds, thus increasing its capacity to 68 beds. Also constructed was a new, four-story, 20,000 square foot, glass-enclosed atrium. At a cost of $28M, these projects are part of the hospital's rebuilding program. The Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation's $50 million pledge will support pediatric care provided at the Medical Center in New Hyde Park and the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset , NY . It will support construction of the planned 100,000 square foot pavilion to be built in front of the existing children's hospital in New Hyde Park. Capital improvements over the coming years are expected to be an on going significant component of the case for support. 

Excerpt from CCMC's Vision Statement

To be a national leader in pediatrics, recognized for providing outstanding family centered, quality focused and academically-based care and committed to the prevention and cure of childhood disease.

The Cohen Children's Medical Center can and should be the preeminent pediatric institution serving the Greater Metropolitan New York region…

The Opportunity

CCMC has scale, growth, vision, and leadership strengths. The medical center is also financially sound and delivers an excess of revenues year after year. It benefits greatly from its membership in the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and conversely its strategic opportunities for national preeminence benefit the entire system.

North Shore-LIJ's CEO and CCMC leadership are in alignment on the importance of investment in philanthropy for the system's future. This spring a budget was approved to increase the size of the Foundation (which raised $84 million in 2008) over the next two years by close to 50%, from 40 plus staff to 60 plus positions. The focus of the expansion is on building its major gifts program and includes investments in many aspects of its program. The Vice President of Development and two additional new positions to be hired, all dedicated to CCMC, are part of this investment. CCMC will also benefit from the investment in the Foundation's centralized fundraising services: annual giving, special events, communications, corporate giving, research, planned giving, and operations. Philanthropic support system wide, and at CCMC, is strategically important for capital projects and in support of excellence. Philanthropy is seen as critical to the vision for the future of the system, and CCMC is positioned to be its preeminent leader in philanthropy.

Philanthropic priorities for CCMC will be set by the Health System Leadership, after consultation with CCMC's Senior Vice President of Children's Services and the Foundation. CCMC has identified between $250 and $300 million in priorities for potential philanthropic support. At this time, there is no comprehensive campaign in place for CCMC or for North Shore-LIJ.

Dr. Klein sees his own responsibilities as ‘strategy, talent, and philanthropy' and states that 30% to 40% of his job is fundraising, which includes getting his staff on board. Historically, the Schneider Children's Hospital, as CCMC was formerly known, did not build a physician-engaged grateful patient program. The establishment of a strong grateful patient program, with full physician participation, is an important goal to be achieved by the Vice President of Development.

The Vice President of Development will be housed at two sites. The first office is on-site at CCMC to facilitate direct and regular interaction with senior management, physicians, prospects etc. The Vice President of Development will also attend weekly meetings of the Executive Director's Council, which will provide the Vice President of Development with access to finance, business, etc. and an opportunity to both understand institutional priorities and be a spokesperson for strategic development of CCMC's philanthropic opportunities. The Vice President of Development's second office is at the Foundation office. This site is located a short distance from CCMC and houses the Foundation staff and centralized services.

The Position

Successful candidates will be able, strategic partners to senior management, medical staff, key board members, and a spectrum of volunteer leadership, including high net worth individuals. Additionally, front line major gift experience in an academic healthcare organization and the ability to both close a gift and support leadership solicitations are necessities.

The Vice President of Development will oversee an experienced small team with the opportunity to hire two new major gifts officers and build CCMC's major gifts program. He/she will partner with the Foundation and Dr. Klein to develop a strategic fundraising plan, build a prospect pool and a grateful patient/parent program, and cultivate, solicit, and close major gifts, including 6 to 8 figure gifts. The Vice President of Development will meet weekly with Dr. Klein and join his weekly Executive Director's Council meeting.

Excellent candidates should demonstrate the following:

• 10+ years of professional fundraising experience, including campaign
• Demonstrated success closing 7-figure individual gifts
• Academic healthcare background
• Exposure to “best practice” shops, preferably in healthcare
• Evidence of developing and sustaining a major gifts program
• Capacity to successfully negotiate complex nonprofit environments
• Ability to command respect of senior administrators, medical staff, and key board members, prospects, and donors
• Ability to coach and partner with physicians on fundraising
• Outstanding communication skills (written, oral, interpersonal) – including the ability to translate complex scientific material into lay language
• Ability to successfully supervise and manage a small team
• Courage, confidence, resilience, and ambition

The following qualifications are highly valued, but not required :

• Fundraising experience with a children's hospital/ pediatrics
• Diverse fundraising experience in addition to major gifts: corporate giving, foundation giving and events
• Demonstrated success closing 8-figure gifts
• Located in greater New York area or has other basis for knowledge of some of CCMC's potential lead prospects and donors

Letters of interest and resume may be sent in confidence to:

cohen@developmentguild.com
Suzanne L. Weber, M.B.A.

Chief Executive Officer

Development Guild/DDI

For more information about Cohen Children's Medical Center, please visit www.schneiderchildrenshospital.org.

For more information about North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, please visit www.northshorelij.com.