Dr. Marvin Fishman and his wife, Gloria, established a permanent endowment for fellowship trainee education at Texas Children's. The fund allows them to see the impact of their gift today while ensuring future support.
When Dr. Marvin Fishman joined Texas Children's Hospital in 1979, the neurology program was in its infancy. The clinic met one half-day per week.
At that time, there was also a pediatric neurology clinic at The Methodist Hospital staffed by Baylor College of Medicine faculty. The clinic was supported in part by The Blue Bird Circle, a local non-profit organization benefiting children with neurological disorders.
The Texas Children's-based clinic continued to grow, and when the opportunity for more space developed with the construction of the Texas Children's Clinical Care Center—now called the Mark A. Wallace Tower—the two clinics merged. All operations were moved to Texas Children's, and the clinic was named The Blue Bird Circle Neurology Clinic.
Over the next few decades under Dr. Fishman's leadership as chief of Neurology, the program expanded from five to 30 full-time staff by the time he stepped aside as clinic chief in 2004.
Today, Texas Children's Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience Department comprises of more than 50 faculty and 130 staff members, with more than 20,000 scheduled visits to the neurology clinics each year.
Dr. Fishman continues to be amazed at the growth of the program and has remained supportive in various ways. Most recently, he and his wife established a permanent endowment to benefit fellowship trainee education at Texas Children's through a blended gift. The Fishmans made an outright gift for current use and also designated Texas Children's as a beneficiary of their retirement plan. By structuring their gift in this way, the Fishmans are able to see the impact of their giving today while also furthering their support in the future.
The gift will be used at the discretion of Dr. Huda Zoghbi, a graduate of the neurology training program and founding director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's.
"It is my way of giving back to Texas Children's for all I was able to accomplish here, and it serves as a thank you to my neurology professors and mentors," Dr. Fishman explained. "During my fellowship training, I developed great relationships with my mentors and advisors. I want to emulate that."
In his own career, mentoring trainees at Texas Children's and seeing them advance professionally was always a favorite part of his job.
"I have a great deal of pride in their accomplishments," he said. "Many graduates of the program have developed successful careers in neurology practices, obtained faculty positions, developed and headed training programs in child neurology, established their own laboratories and held endowed chairs."
Mrs. Fishman also befriended many of the fellows. She often invited them to their home for dinner and hosted graduation parties for them upon completion of their training.
"They were like an extended family to us," Mrs. Fishman said.
The Fishmans have remained close to many of the graduates.
Dr. Fishman believes the future is bright for Texas Children's Neurology Service, and that its many accomplishments and continuing successes will usher in a new era of discovery.
"The ultimate goal is to discover new ways of treating neurological disorders in children," Dr. Fishman said. "Texas Children's has always been committed to the care of patients and has become a premier institution in the advancement of the field of child neurology. It was natural for us to want to help by supporting bright young people entering the field."
You can set future Texas Children's physicians up for success—and help the children they serve—through an estate gift. To learn more about the gift options available to you, please contact Rachel S. Kronenberger at rskronen@texaschildrens.org or 832-824-6907.
