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Thirty-five years ago, Merck gifted $3.7 million to build The Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Now, the charitable arm of the Rahway-headquartered company has awarded a $14 million grant to support the facility’s renovation and expansion. 

The Children’s Inn at NIH is a private, nonprofit facility for children and their families participating in pediatric research at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. The Inn offers therapeutic, educational and recreational programming at no cost to these families.  

Since that initial gift, Merck and the Merck Foundation have committed more than $35 million to support The Inn’s programs and capital projects. 

“The Children’s Inn has pioneered family-centered care and serves as an essential resource for seriously ill children, teens, young adults, and their families. Since its founding, The Inn has advanced important research to address critical unmet needs—a purpose we share at Merck,” Merck Chairman and CEO Robert Davis said in an Oct. 12 statement. “I am incredibly proud of Merck’s longstanding commitment to supporting The Inn’s remarkable work to ease suffering and improve the lives of thousands of families from around the world every year.” 

Since opening in 1990, more than 16,000 families from around the country and the world have stayed at The Inn during clinical trials. 

Merck’s five-year grant will go toward the renovation project, called The Inn of Tomorrow, supported by an overall $50 million capital campaign. The gift from Merck will fund the construction of a new respiratory isolation wing to protect young patients with weakened immune systems due to treatment for rare diseases. 

Additionally, Merck’s grant will contribute to other components of the project, including a new front entrance and lobby, the modernization of guest rooms and updates to the infrastructure in the existing building. 

Construction on the project is scheduled to start in winter 2024. When completed in 2027, The Inn will be able to serve 1,700 families each year — expanding its capacity by about 200 families per year, according to NIH. 

More outreach

In September 2022, the Merck Foundation launched a $20 million initiative in an effort to make cancer care equal for all. Click here to read more.