Golisano Children's Hospital loses remarkable benefactor

Mrs. Georgia Gosnell and her late husband, Thomas, have had a long history of giving in the Rochester area, and have left an indelible mark on the University of Rochester Medical Center. Mrs. Gosnell passed away Dec. 17, surrounded by her family.

“Mrs. Gosnell was one of those rare souls who made it her job to make a positive impact on the people and community around her. Whether through her beautiful smile or her generosity, she was quick to spread the joy in her heart,” said Ray Mayewski, M.D., chief medical officer for UR Medicine’s Strong Memorial Hospital and Mrs. Gosnell’s personal physician. “We will miss her and her spirit.”

Mrs. Gosnell committed $5 million to name the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the new Golisano Children’s Hospital. The new Gosnell Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will include at least 60 beds both in the new building and in the current NICU space on the third floor of Strong Memorial Hospital. The Gosnell NICU in the new building will provide intensive care to the region’s sickest babies in private rooms.

When she committed to the gift, Mrs. Gosnell said that she was inspired to help because of her own experience. Her two girls were born very small almost 60 years ago at Strong Memorial before the NICU existed. One of them, Elizabeth Gosnell Miller, gave the family—and the physicians—quite a scare when she was born in 1962 and her heart stopped. Both girls recovered.

Mrs. Gosnell’s gift is among the largest to the new Golisano Children’s Hospital, and we will be forever grateful for her generosity to our institution and to the thousands of babies who will benefit from the new NICU.