Key Takeaways
- Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, pledged $1.1 billion to build Oregon’s first hospital dedicated exclusively to women’s health.
- The personal donation will help Providence St. Vincent Medical Center unite women’s services under one roof while expanding cardiovascular care, research, and clinical training statewide.
- The gift brings the Knights’ philanthropy above $9 billion over two decades, including more than $200 million previously given to Providence’s heart program.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are committing $1.1 billion to build Oregon’s first hospital dedicated exclusively to women’s health. The historic gift to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and the Providence Heart Institute will also expand cardiovascular care, medical research, and clinical training statewide.
According to The Associated Press, the planned hospital will bring multiple areas of women’s care under one roof, reducing the burden on patients who currently must navigate different doctors, specialties, and facilities. Providence also intends to use the funding to strengthen its heart institute, train medical professionals, and better coordinate care throughout the medical center.
Although Knight built his fortune through Nike, the $1.1 billion commitment is a personal donation from him and Penny—not a corporate contribution from the sportswear giant.
Nike’s charitable work largely centers on community sports and social-impact programs, while the Knights have spent decades directing billions of their own money toward hospitals, universities, and scientific research. Nike was founded in Oregon and remains headquartered in Beaverton, keeping the couple’s latest investment close to the company’s roots.
“Women’s health needs change throughout life, and too often patients are asked to navigate multiple specialties and care settings on their own,” Providence St. Vincent CEO Ray Moreno said in a statement.
He described the gift as a chance to bring those services together, expand access throughout Oregon, and “bridge care gaps in women’s health.”
Providence Heart Institute executive medical director Dan Oseran said private donations have become increasingly important as healthcare organizations face tighter resources. “A gift like this reduces that friction a little bit and provides the ability to do things we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do,” he explained.
The Knights have been backing Providence’s heart program for more than a decade, contributing $200 million before the latest pledge. Their previous gifts included $25 million in 2014, $75 million in 2019 and another $75 million earlier this year.
Their larger philanthropic portfolio is even more staggering: The couple has now pledged or donated more than $9 billion over two decades, including over $2.7 billion to Oregon Health & Science University and more than $2 billion to the University of Oregon.
They have also supported brain-resilience research at Stanford and committed $400 million to rebuilding Portland’s historically Black Albina neighborhood.
