Herma family pledges $8 million challenge gift to Children's

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has received an $8 million challenge gift from the Herma family to benefit the Herma Heart Center.

Through Dec. 30, the family will match up to $8 million in contributions to improve care for children with congenital heart defects.

The gift will be the largest the hospital has received since the Herma family gave $10 million in 2008, which was the largest individual gift ever given to Children's Hospital.

John and Susan Herma’s daughter, Leigh, died from a complex congenital heart disease in the 1980s, and their gifts to the hospital established the Leigh Gabrielle Herma Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology and the Herma Heart Center.

“John and Susan Herma turned their own personal tragedy into an opportunity to make a difference, which has resulted in the Herma Heart Center becoming one of the premier pediatric heart programs in the country,” Peggy Troy, president and chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital, said in a statement. “Their challenge reflects the advancements that have been made, but more importantly, the work that still needs to be done to improve the lives of kids born with heart conditions.”

The Herma Heart Center, which does more than 700 procedures a year, is one of the largest pediatric heart programs in the country.