Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cornerstone Laying at Amplatz Children's Hospital


Today, the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, A.F. & A.M., performed a cornerstone laying at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital. Amplatz Children's Hospital will be a state-of-the-art facility replacing a much less satisfactory situation. The original setup involved the Children's Hospital being located within the adult hospital. This new building will have over 200 beds to provide top care for children and mothers. The hospital will be eco-friendly and will provide many ways for families to stay comfortable while their children are there including overnight rooms. The children will even have control over the lighting and color in their rooms, which has been shown to improve healing.

The purpose of the hospital is to help children and their families overcome extremely challenging times. We were told by the administrator of the hospital that the staff at Amplatz won't just deliver innovations in pediatric care but create them. To understand more about, you can fan them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. It is a blessing that this state continues to push ahead medical research with the number of teaching hospitals, medical device producers and world class health systems based here. A wonderful video has been produced and can be viewed below:



This is a very proud day in University of Minnesota history. The ceremony was well attended by the brethren of Minnesota and the ceremony was well done,


including a very moving speech delivered by the Grand Orator and a great friend, Bill Callister.


It is no surprise that the Grand Lodge of Minnesota laid the cornerstone for this great work as Minnesota Masonry and the University of Minnesota has a great tradition of cooperation.

The Masonic Cancer Center Fund was originally founded in 1955 to help raise $1 million dollars for a center for terminally ill patients. The goal of the Masonic Cancer Center has changed dramatically from helping terminal patients at the end of life to finding a cure for cancer. The Masons of Minnesota, in 2008, gave the single largest gift to the University of Minnesota with $65 million.

The University of Minnesota is an important center for research and intellectual growth in the state of Minnesota. I'm very proud that our brothers have dedicated their time and money to continue advances in life changing medical research. Masons are pillars of our communities, supporting all those around.

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