TV producer makes one of largest donations ever to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles says it expects to get a big bang from some big bucks given by a legendary Hollywood producer.

Chuck Lorre, far left, poses with interns in Los Angeles. He has made a "transformational" gift to Children's Hospital Los Angeles to train more doctors, nurses and clinical care workers.

Chuck Lorre, the creator of long-running TV comedies such as “The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “Mom,” has given a substantial donation to the pediatric hospital system. The gift comes from his philanthropic organization, the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation.

The health system announced the gift this week. The organization didn’t specify the amount of the donation but described it as a “transformational” gift and one of the largest ever to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The health system will use the funds to establish the Chuck Lorre Pediatric Health Education Institute, which will train physicians, nurses, researchers and a variety of healthcare providers.

Paul S. Viviano, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, hailed the foundation’s “extreme generosity in making this milestone gift.”

“This transformational gift—among the three largest ever to the hospital—will allow Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to invest deeply in education for physicians, residents, fellows, nurses, and other health care professionals for generations to come,” Viviano said in a statement. “It will have a profound impact on the future of health care locally and nationally.”

Lorre has already made substantial contributions to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In December 2023, the health system announced a $10 million gift from the Lorre Foundation to support science training and education programs for high school and college students from underrepresented communities in the Los Angeles area. The foundation has been contributing to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles since 2016.

Lorre said it’s “thrilling” to expand the foundation’s partnership with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In a statement about this new donation to train doctors and nurses, Lorre touted the importance of creating a larger and more diverse healthcare workforce.

“Investing in people creates profound change,” Lorre said in a statement. “Fostering career growth for health care professionals at every level by creating pathways for advancement and new opportunities to build a diverse workforce is deeply meaningful to me.”

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles says the gift will enable the system to train far more individuals for careers in pediatric medicine. The system currently trains 600 students annually in healthcare fields. With the Lorre Foundation’s gift, the organization expects to train more than 12,000 additional healthcare professionals over the next 20 years.

The health system notes that pediatric medicine has seen staff shortages in recent years, and other children’s hospitals have said it’s difficult to fill all their available openings.

Matthew Cook, president and CEO of the Children’s Hospital Association, told Chief Healthcare Executive® in a recent interview that pediatric providers nationwide are struggling with recruitment and retention, and those problems began before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Manpower, really broadly speaking, has been a significant challenge for years for children's hospitals,” Cook said. “So this is not a new phenomenon. The pandemic aggravated an issue that was already there.”

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Trisha Cardoso, president and chief giving officer of The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, said the new institute represents the culmination of the foundation’s efforts to get more people into science fields, including more individuals from underserved groups. Cardoso is also a member of the CHLA Foundation Board of Trustees.

“We’re honored to join with CHLA to establish the Chuck Lorre Pediatric Health Education Institute and extend our lasting partnership with the hospital,” Cardoso said in a statement.

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