John and Marty Engquist have donated $1.5 million to fund the hematology and oncology floor of the new Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital to help care for children with pediatric cancer and blood diseases, the hospital announced today in a news release.
The Engquist family gift brings Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, according to the release, to within $4 million of its initial $50 million fundraising goal.
Engquist, the CEO of H&E Equipment Services and a local real estate developer, established a relationship with a childhood cancer patient many years ago. The relationship inspired him to start the Dream Day Foundation, which provides trips for St. Jude patients to Clinton for a day of fishing, games and food.
He’s supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for more than 25 years, including serving as a former member of its board of directors. The St. Jude Baton Rouge Affiliate Clinic at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health is one of only eight St. Jude affiliates in the country, the news release says.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Our Lady of the Lake and the care that they provide to kids,” Engquist says in a statement. “And their relationship with St. Jude makes this a very meaningful gift for me. This hospital will provide not only pediatric cancer patients but all children better care and better access to healthcare, and I want to be a part of that.” Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital is set to open in October 2019.
