Prisma Health Children’s Hospital receives $5 million pledge to benefit children’s cancer research
Pledge from Curing Kids Cancer marks largest in Prisma Health Midlands history
Curing Kids Cancer, a nonprofit organization devoted to funding cutting-edge pediatric cancer therapies, has pledged a historic $5 million to Prisma Health Midlands Foundation to fund research led by Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands and in partnership with the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. The announcement was made Sept. 24 at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital.
With the pledge, Curing Kids Cancer established a new endowment named Killian’s Hope for a United South Carolina with Prisma Health Midlands Foundation. The endowment’s name is in memory of the late Killian Owen, son of Curing Kids Cancer co-founders Gráinne and Clay Owen. Killian lost his life in 2003 at just nine years old after battling leukemia. Killian’s Hope for a United South Carolina will fund the research efforts of Prisma Health Children’s Hospital’s pediatric oncology team in collaboration with USC’s College of Pharmacy. Their goal is to develop and provide access to innovative therapeutics for children with cancer and to ensure they receive the best care and treatment available.
The pledge represents the single largest pledge or gift in the history of Prisma Health Midlands.
“This gift is especially close to our hearts as a family. My husband Clay and I co-founded Curing Kids Cancer in memory of our son Killian, and our family’s roots run deep at the University of South Carolina,” said Gráinne Owen, co-founder and president, Curing Kids Cancer.
“Supporting this partnership between the children’s hospital and the university is a crucial step in our quest to fund cutting-edge treatments and, ultimately, cures for all childhood cancers,” she said. “Killian’s hope was that all children would one day be survivors, and that is our goal. As C.S. Lewis said, ‘You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.’”
Prisma Health President and CEO Mark O’Halla expressed great appreciation to Curing Kids Cancer for the transformational gift.
“We are incredibly grateful to Curing Kids Cancer’s founders, Gráinne and Clay Owen, and their outstanding team, for nurturing this dream alongside our Children’s Hospital team,” said O’Halla. “We are ready to lead and thrilled to partner with our longtime friends at the University of South Carolina.”
Stuart L. Cramer, D.O, Aflac Medical Director, Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Prisma Health Children’s Hospital is leading the effort.
“This endowment creates the opportunity to redefine pediatric oncology care in South Carolina. It unites the largest health system in South Carolina, Prisma Health, with one of the best College of Pharmacy programs in the country at the University of South Carolina,” said Dr. Cramer. “The overall goal is to increase collaboration not only locally but across the state, ensuring that all pediatric oncology patients are able to access the same innovative care no matter where they call home.”
“As Dr. Cramer provides exceptional patient care, our team in the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences (DDBS) at USC’s College of Pharmacy is working to build the essential scientific understanding of how these tumors function and where they’re most vulnerable,” said Michael D. Wyatt, Ph.D., professor and chair, DDBS, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. “Our mission is to harness today’s most sophisticated laboratory techniques to analyze, characterize, and study childhood cancers to learn how to defeat them. This research reveals the insights needed to overcome these challenging diseases.”
Curing Kids Cancer is a longtime donor to Prisma Health Children’s Hospital’s pediatric oncology program and was honored in 2023 as the naming donor for its outpatient hematology and oncology clinic. The clinic, located on the second floor of the hospital, bears the name, Gamecocks Curing Kids Cancer Clinic.
Prisma Health Midlands Foundation seeks to raise an additional $2.5 million to help build the endowment. To give or learn more, click here.
Click here to see more photos from the event.
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About Curing Kids Cancer
Grainne and Clay Owen founded Curing Kids Cancer, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit devoted to funding cutting edge pediatric cancer therapies, after they lost their son, Killian, to leukemia in 2003 when he was nine years old. Since it was founded in 2005, Curing Kids Cancer has raised more than $33 million to fund new childhood cancer treatments and pediatric cancer research. To learn more, please visit curingkidscancer.org.
About Prisma Health Midlands Foundation
Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, engages community partners to enhance health care for patients and families served by Prisma Health in the Midlands. For more information, visit PrismaHealthMidlandsFoundation.org.
About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a private nonprofit health company with over 32,000 team members, 19 acute and specialty hospitals, 3,131 licensed beds, 320 practice sites, and more than 5,900 employed and independent clinicians across its clinically integrated inVio Health Network. Each year, Prisma Health serves more than 1.6 million patients in South Carolina and Tennessee. Connect with Prisma Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter/X.
About USC College of Pharmacy
The University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy has been advancing pharmacy practice for nearly 160 years. Our ACPE-accredited program excels in education, research, and clinical practice, offering hands-on learning through multiple innovative centers and labs. Students can explore diverse professional tracks, leadership training and advocacy. Our extensive experiential network provides local, national, and international training opportunities, preparing graduates for varied careers. Ranked first in South Carolina and among the top 25 nationwide for research funding, our distinguished researchers are committed to finding causes of disease, evaluating existing treatments and enhancing patient care for South Carolina and beyond.