8    Cone Health Philanthropy
For every 
woman who 
comes next
Dr. Vanessa Haygood honors her mother’s legacy while 
advancing maternal care for generations to come.
When Dr. Vanessa Haygood committed a $1.5 million gift to 
Cone Health in support of women’s and children’s care, she 
knew exactly whose name should carry it forward. For years, 
as she drove past the MedCenter for Women on Wendover 
Avenue in Greensboro, she found herself thinking the same 
quiet refrain: My mother’s name belongs there. 
The MedCenter for Women sits at the crossroads of 
thousands of individual stories — clinicians following 
pregnancies closely, catching illnesses early and building 
trust room by room. Mothers and newborns are often seen 
side by side, offering care designed around real life rather 
than rigid schedules. Over time, the MedCenter for Women 
has grown into far more than a building; it is a cornerstone 
of our community’s health and a place families trust.
For Haygood, that meaning has always been personal, 
rooted in a family story and a promise she has carried for 
many years. Her vision will soon stand in full view as the 
Cone Health Pearl Walker Haygood MedCenter for Women.
Pearl Walker Haygood’s story began with the kind of 
profound loss that few of us can imagine. Her mother died 
from complications of the flu during the 1918 influenza 
pandemic, just three days after Pearl was born, leaving her 
to be raised by extended family.
PRIORITY:  
Health Equity

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