JOSIE Y. S. LEE'S STORY

Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) recently received a pledge of $1.5 million?one of the largest gifts received in the hospital's history?to name the new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) scheduled to open on the hospital's 6th floor this fall. The unit will be named in honor of donor Josie Y.S. Lee, the grateful grandmother of a former CHOC patient Kelly Tarantello, who spent a significant amount of time in CHOC's PICU as an infant.

Tarantello, who is currently a college student, received critical care at CHOC for a heart defect when she was a newborn and again when she was a year old. Her mother, Delphine Lee, credits CHOC critical care physician Paul Lubinsky, MD, and his unrelenting dedication with saving her daughter's life. When Delphine and her mother went on a recent tour of the hospital with Anthony Chang. MD, medical director of the CHOC Heart Institute, Josie decided to make a legacy gift that will help CHOC care for even more critically ill children.

This is not the first time a member of the Lee family has supported CHOC. Delphine and her husband, Ron Ainsworth established an emergency fund in 1997 to cover meals, transportation and other expenses of families whose children were admitted to the CHOC PICU.

Of the family's generosity, CHOC President and Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Chavalas Cripe says, "The giving history of the Lee-Ainsworth family is truly inspiring, and it humbles me to realize how much CHOC has touched the lives of one family. On behalf of the entire CHOC organization, I thank Josie, Delphine and Ron for their generous support of and dedication to the health and well-being of children."