Long-time Donor Supports New Nursing Research Program

Pat Haggerty Jr.’s connection to Children’s Health℠ goes back over 70 years, when his little sister, Rosemary, was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away in the late 1940s.

“Most people give to something that affected them personally,” Pat said. “Same thing with us: My sister’s leukemia got us interested in the question, ‘How do you solve that?’ because when she was diagnosed, there weren’t a lot of answers.” In 1968, Pat’s mother and father established The Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Foundation, where Pat now serves as chairman and CEO. Here, the foundation focuses on changing lives through philanthropic giving to North Texas nonprofits. 

For nearly 40 years, The Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Foundation has supported various areas of Children’s Health and most recently donated to our new Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Program, where nurses use the principles of Evidence-Based Practices to make optimal decisions about patient care. The program translates research so that it can be applied to clinical decision-making. As a result, nurses report greater confidence in their ability to deliver the best care to patients.  

Philanthropy is critical to supporting such initiatives at Children’s Health, so we can continue to make life better for children, now and in the future. 

Pat intimately understands that importance of nurses being equipped to make choices at the bedside. When his daughter was 6 months old, she was rushed to Children’s Health with a high fever, and he was shocked with the news that she was in kidney failure. After two operations and collaborative care from a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, surgeons and nurses at Children’s Health, his daughter is still doing well decades later.  

“If you want to help kids, you have to invest in research,” Pat said. “The discoveries that are made actually have the ability to help more people today and into the future. We’re interested in trying to help solve problems that haven’t been solved yet.”