Future Perfect

The Sorinis’ gift supports the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital and advances emergency medicine at Michigan

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When Ernest and Kelly Sorini of Ann Arbor, Mich., gave $7 million to advance emergency medicine at the University of Michigan, they did it with their seven children, as well as children and parents who are faced with a trauma situation, in mind.

As busy parents with an active family, the couple says they hope the Sorini Family Children’s Emergency Medicine Center will help the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital facility become the standard-bearer for children’s emergency medicine and, most importantly, to be a source of hope and comfort for families near and far.

“Kelly and I are so fortunate to have healthy children,” says Ernie Sorini, “but we also want the very best for all children. As parents, we know that when you have a sick child who needs to go to the emergency room, it’s natural to feel frightened and somewhat vulnerable. We wanted to do something to help assure parents that, if they find themselves in such a crisis, the care their children will receive at the U-M will be the highest quality and most compassionate possible.”

“Ernie and I are absolutely passionate about children, and we want to do everything possible to improve the medical care they receive,” says Kelly Sorini. “So when we decided to turn our passion into something more concrete, it seemed only natural to turn our attention to the University of Michigan and to invest in enhancing what is already a leading center for children’s health.”

Through their recent $7 million gift to the U-M Health System, the Sorinis are helping set the stage for new research they hope will reduce injury and disease, especially among children, as well as for training the highest quality emergency medicine physicians to provide expert and compassionate emergency care.

Leaders in Emergency Care
Of their gift, $2 million will fund an endowed professorship in the Medical School—to be known as the Ernest John Sorini, M.D., Professorship in Emergency Medicine—and $5 million will create the Sorini Family Children’s Emergency Medicine Center in the new U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital.

U-M Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Health System CEO Robert Kelch, M.D., says the Sorinis’ gift will be instrumental in helping the Health System achieve its goal of continuing to offer the finest in children’s emergency medical services.

“The Sorini Center will be a magnificent space in our new children’s hospital and a model for pediatric medicine in this country,” says Kelch. “Michigan today is a leader in emergency medicine, and we’re excited and proud that Ernest and Kelly’s gift will become a testament to outstanding children’s emergency medical care at the U-M—now and into the future.”

Despite a gift that’s among the largest to the U-M Health System during The Michigan Difference fund-raising campaign, the ever-modest Ernie Sorini insists that what he has done is really not that special.

“When people try to thank me, I tell them if you really want to thank me then consider doing whatever you can to help support the outstanding people at the U-M who work so hard every day to save lives, alleviate suffering and improve the quality of life for so many people.”