Representatives from WVU Medicine, the Ann Sonneborn Charitable Foundation and WesBanco gather to announce a $2 million donation from the foundation and the name of the upcoming outpatient children’s center — The Robert Sonneborn Family WVU Medicine Children’s Outpatient Center. (Photo Courtesy of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital)

WHEELING — The future children’s outpatient center to be built on the campus of WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital will bear the name of a family with deep philanthropic ties to the community following a $2 million donation.

The center will be named the Robert Sonneborn Family WVU Medicine Children’s Outpatient Center, thanks to the donation from the Ann Sonneborn Charitable Foundation.

The foundation has donated countless funds to deserving organizations throughout the Ohio Valley.

“We are honored to name the center after this generous community-focused family,” said Jessica Moore, Associate Vice President of Foundation and Community Relations for WVU Medicine Wheeling and Reynolds Memorial hospitals.

The center hopes to begin the buildout in 2025. The new clinic will be located on the main floor of the former Continuous Care Center adjacent to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital. The new facility will contain a pediatric imaging center and lab, an after-hours clinic which allows pediatricians to see patients outside normal business hours, and four offices which will be dedicated spaces to host pediatric specialists who focus on the needs the youth are facing in the Ohio Valley.

Other features will include dedicated street-level parking, plus separate entrances for sick and well children at the street level, as well as an Austin’s Playroom, a room offered through the Mario Lemieux Foundation that offers a place where patients can play and families can relax as they wait for their appointments.

The Ann Sonneborn Charitable Foundation is administered by WesBanco Trust and Investment Services.

The estimated cost for the new facility is $11 million and the hospital must raise half of that to open the new center.