Will Condon serves as President of the new Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart, as he continues his successful journey of working for Ascension Sacred Heart. That career began some ten years ago when he was hired as a Marketing Outreach Coordinator. During his tenure at Ascension Sacred Heart, he earned his master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from University of West Florida. He also progressed in considerable responsibility becoming the Chief Marketing Officer of Ascension Florida. Now, his mission is concentrated on the kids. “But I would not be here without the help of great mentors along the way,” Will says, crediting Dickie Appleyard, Susan Davis, and Henry Stovall.
When the new Children’s Hospital opened on May 4, 2019, Will was most proud of how his team accomplished the move from their prior location. The transfer took place after prolonged planning and Will was gratified to see every detail go seamlessly, saying, “I tell people all the time that I am a very small part of the Studer Family Children’s Hospital. But I am so fortunate and so blessed every day to be a part of that team because I know how much they care for the kids.”
He is also grateful to the more than 12,000 individuals, corporations, and foundations that donated to the construction of the Studer Family Children’s Hospital. “These generous partners allow us to provide the best care, facilities, and programs close to home for every child regardless of their families’ ability to pay,” Will says “for that, I am eternally grateful.”
He points out what the new facility means for the community, indeed the region: Families now don’t have to travel to access high-class pediatric healthcare. “Usually to find a hospital like ours, you would have to go to Atlanta, Birmingham, Jacksonville. A chronically ill kid that needs to be in a children’s hospital bed often means you have to break the family apart.” That’s no longer the case with the services offered at the Children’s Hospital.
Yet, while the doors are open for care, it doesn’t mean the work is done. Two pediatric areas are slated for growth: The Bear Family Foundation Pediatric Oncology Center and the operating room (OR) suites. (That OR is the only one in the entire region dedicated solely to kids.) The number of children treated in the hospital stays high, with the children’s emergency room serving 100 kids a day.
“A big thing we’re focused on moving forward,” Will shares, “is outreach.” Families in Destin, Panama City, and Fairhope can’t always manage to travel to the Children’s Hospital for care. “How can we bring our pediatric sub-specialist physicians into their communities and provide that high level of care where they live?”
Will attributes his drive to his parents, both of whom were accomplished athletes. (His mother was the world’s best breast stroke swimmer in 1968, winning an Olympic Gold Medal.). He and wife Jamie, a pediatric clinical dietitian at Ascension Sacred Heart, were blessed with a baby girl, Adler, a little over a year ago.