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John E. Kostic Memorial Foundation Pledges $400,000 for New Pediatric Infusion Center at Cooper

October 15, 2015

CAMDEN, N.J.— The Cooper Foundation today announced that the John E. Kostic Memorial Foundation has pledged $400,000 for the creation of a pediatric infusion center at Cooper University Health Care, providing children and families a warm and welcoming environment during therapy.

“This gift will help children and their families feel more comfortable and relaxed during infusion therapy,” said Susan Bass Levin, President and CEO of The Cooper Foundation. “We are incredibly grateful to the Kostic family for their generosity and are honored to partner with them in keeping the memory of John alive.”

The new John E. Kostic outpatient infusion center will provide family-centered care to children requiring short or long-term infusion therapy, therapeutic injections or provocative stimulation testing. Infusion therapy will be administered to infants, children and adolescents who require either one-time or ongoing IV therapy for a variety of acute and chronic illnesses including juvenile diabetes and other endocrine disorders, as well as blood, genetic and gastrointestinal disorders.

“We are passionate about enhancing and enriching the lives of young people in South Jersey,” said Emily Kostic, Vice President of the John E. Kostic Memorial Foundation and John’s sister. “Our family is extremely excited to partner with Cooper on this project, which will create a warm and comfortable place for children receiving infusion therapy.”

The John E. Kostic Foundation was established in 2005 after the untimely death of John E. Kostic, a graduate of Delran High School and a junior at Rider University when he was killed in a tractor-trailer accident.

The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster scholarships, hospital enrichment programs, and community support programs to effectively meet the needs of today’s children and families. The Foundation makes grants that help  private institutions fashion more innovative, cost-effective responses to these needs. In tribute to John, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 4, the Foundation is among the largest diabetes scholarship organizations in the state of New Jersey.

About the Cooper Foundation/Cooper University Health Care

The Cooper Foundation serves as the philanthropic, community outreach and community development arm of Cooper University Health Care, one of the largest health systems in southern New Jersey with over 100 outpatient offices and its flagship, Cooper University Hospital located in Camden, N.J. It is the premier university hospital serving South Jersey and the Delaware Valley. Cooper has reaffirmed its role as a leader in medical education and research with the opening of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in 2012, the first four-year allopathic medical school in South Jersey. Cooper is renowned for signature programs in cardiology, cancer, critical care, pediatrics, trauma, orthopedics and neurosciences. Cooper is also home to the only state designated Children’s Hospital in South Jersey—the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper. Over the last decade, Cooper has transformed its Camden City neighborhood into the Cooper Health Sciences Campus. In October 2013, the new MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, a freestanding cancer center for comprehensive care, opened on the Health Sciences Campus.