$1M gift to Northern Light Mercy Hospital will fund better access for pediatric care

Northern Light Mercy Hospital has received a $1 million gift from the family of longtime supporters to improve access to pediatric health care.

The donation comes from the children of John and Patricia Klingenstein and establishes the Patricia Davis Klingenstein Pediatric Well-Being Fund at Mercy Hospital.

The new fund in named in memory of the late Patricia D. Klingenstein, a longtime benefactor of the Portland hospital. The daughter of Mercy’s first chair of pediatrics, she honored her father in 2015 with a gift naming Mercy Hospital’s Dr. Harry E. Davis Pediatric Center.

More recently, Klingenstein and her family supported Mercy’s campus expansion on Fore River Parkway. The hospital’s main wing is named in honor of Davis.

In a press release Tuesday, the hospital said the new fund is a way for a third generation of Davis' family to continue his legacy by helping Mercy’s youngest patients.

The fund will is intended to:

Strengthen community outreach and education focused on key pediatric well-being issues
Support navigation of coordinated care to ensure ongoing pediatric wellness.
Enhance workforce development for critical positions and capital projects that support pediatric care at Mercy Hospital.

“Mercy Hospital is grateful for this generous gift from the Klingenstein family,” said Mercy Hospital President Charlie Therrien. “The Patricia D. Klingenstein Pediatric Well-Being Fund will help us increase access to care and reduce barriers to those challenged by social determinants of health.

"By providing support for our youngest patients and their families, we are building a foundation for future health.”

Northern Light Mercy Hospital is a 200-bed hospital with 1,500 employees, and ranks as the sixth-largest hospital in Maine based on licensed bed count, according to the 2024 Mainebiz Book of Lists.

Founded in 1918 by the Catholic church, Mercy became part of Northern Light Health in 2013 and moved to the current location on Fore River Parkway in 2021.