$217,600 donation made in name of late Cape doctor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In the name of the late Dr. James Kinder of Cape Girardeau, the March of Dimes on Wednesday made a $217,600 donation to further research aimed at reducing premature births and birth defects.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Kinder was the only board-certified pediatrician between St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn. He also was instrumental in establishing the region's first neonatal intensive care unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau in the 1970s.

From 1997 until his death in 2000, Kinder exclusively served low-income patients as a staff pediatrician at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center.

His son, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, accepted the donation during a presentation at the Missouri Capitol.

"His service to others was something deeply ingrained in him and remains an inspiration to his family," Peter Kinder said.

The donation will go to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center at St. Louis. It will help fund the development of foods rich with folic acid. Folic acid deficiency in pregnant women is a leading cause of birth defects. It can also contribute to a variety of other ailments in all adults.