Changes: Penn State Health CEO on ‘transformational gift’

DERRY TWP. Pa. - Penn State Health is one of a select group of hospitals to receive tens of millions of dollars from the Golisano Foundation to improve pediatric care.

Dr. Michael Kupferman, president and CEO of Penn State Health, tells Chief Healthcare Executive that he’s excited about the possibilities to improve pediatric care in central Pennsylvania. He says he’s looking forward to working with a network of hospitals supported by the foundation to transform care for children across the country.

Penn State Health received $50 million from the Golisano Foundation, and its pediatric hospital is now known as Penn State Health Golisano Children’s Hospital. Kupferman talks about the gift and the new opportunities for pediatric care in the latest episode of Changes, a video series from Chief Healthcare Executive®.

In a conversation at the Penn State Health headquarters in the area known as Hershey (the Hersheypark coasters can be seen from the campus), Kupferman outlines the opportunities to expand care and services for children and families across Pennsylvania. He’s looking forward to devoting more resources to research of pediatric conditions and to recruiting, retaining and training more physicians to work at Penn State Health.

Kupferman says he’s been talking with other pediatric health system leaders in the Golisano Children’s Alliance. Since October 2025, Tom Golisano, the founder of Paychex, Inc., has contributed $578 million through his foundation to pediatric hospitals across the country.

“We were all discussing a variety of different opportunities as to what we can do together: best practices in critical care, best practices in research, best practices in surgery,” Kupferman says. “And I think that's really what was most exciting is what could the future of children's care be in this country.”

Here are some excerpts from our conversation.

Q: Let's talk about the wonderful contribution that Penn State Health received from the Golisano Foundation for the Children's Hospital. What was your reaction when you first heard of that gift coming to Penn State?

A: “We were just delighted to receive that tremendous, transformational gift. It was a process through which we, as a team, came together to present to Golisano Foundation what our vision would be for those funds, and we were waiting with bated breath for that announcement. And we were just so excited to receive the amazing news.

“We traveled up to Rochester to meet with Mr. Golisano and other health systems that were recipients. And it was a tremendous opportunity for us, not only to celebrate that with President (Neeli) Bendapudi from Penn State University, but also leaders of health systems across the country, and most importantly, with Mr. Golisano, who presented each of us with that gift. And so it was really a transformational event in Penn State Health's history.

“And we're very much excited for the future of what these resources are going to do for our pediatric program, not just at our children's hospital, which we've renamed the Golisano Children's Hospital here on the Hershey Medical Center campus, but also what it's doing for us as a pediatric center of excellence and how we are building a children's network of care across central Pennsylvania.”

Q: That must have been an amazing day, going out with the other health system leaders and meeting Mr. Golisano. Is that a day you're ever going to forget?

A: “I don't think so. It was a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm. All 12 systems convened in Rochester, New York, and had an opportunity to interact with one another, not just congratulate one another, but also talk about the future.

“This isn't just individual health systems receiving these funds, but Mr. Golisano's vision is that we, as a set of health systems, come together around best practices, research opportunities, clinical care collaborations, to imagine what a collaborative organization we could be as pediatric centers of excellence can do for children's care across the nation.“And that's really the exciting part, and we started generating ideas during those discussions on that day where we all convened. We were all discussing a variety of different opportunities as to what we can do together: best practices in critical care, best practices in research, best practices in surgery. And I think that's really what was most exciting is what could the future of children's care be in this country.”

Q: You've talked about how you're going to be working together with the other health systems that were recipients of support from the Golisano Foundation. I know it hasn't been that long yet, but how's that going to look? How do you envision that work in terms of supporting each other and having a real network to help build upon your capabilities?

A: “So there's a wonderful collaborative that has already been developed through the Golisano Foundation that's already brought together leading pediatric experts across the country, and our pediatric leaders have participated in this collaboration, both virtually as well as in person.

“And some of this work entails bringing people together around very specific areas of focus, such as best-in-class pediatric critical care pathways, standardizing the care of children across all age groups, creating best-in-class pathways for pediatric heart disorders, pediatric oncology disorders.

“So this is really an immense opportunity for children across the country to be cared for at systems that believe in the outcomes of this collaborative. And so I'm excited about that future. I'm excited about us learning as a health system, some of those best practices from others, as well as sharing the unique experiences and best practices that Penn State Health has to offer our community of like-minded organizations as part of the Golisano Foundation.”

Reminder: If you’re on the go, you can get an audio version of the Changes series wherever you get your podcasts.