Shriners Hospital for Children will get a significant boost today when the Charles Marsland Jr. estate donates $1 million to support its new hospital, which is under construction in Makiki.

Since 1923, Shriners Hospital for Children in Honolulu has provided specialized medical care to 835,000 children from Hawai'i and the Pacific Rim at no charge. Presently, Shriners sees more than 600 new patients a year and has a waiting list of about 225 patients. About 80 percent of patients are from Hawai'i.

Shriners Hospital has launched its first capital campaign to raise funds specifically for the new hospital.

Total cost for the new hospital will be $73 million. The capital campaign intends to raise $14 million.

"This is the first time in 86 years that we have initiated a capital campaign to raise funds for our services," Gene Brace-well, Shriners Hospitals for Children International board of trustees, said in a prepared statement. "We have always provided free medical care to help children in need, and we have never taken any government funding. Our services are made possible by generous donations like these, and we are simply ecstatic about this significant contribution."

The new hospital will be built on the 6.5-acre site of the present facility on Punahou Street. The existing hospital was built in 1967 and last modernized in 1992.

When completed, the new hospital will be 40 percent larger than the original building, with state-of-the-art medical equipment and a modern interior that provides a child-friendly environment. The hospital provides orthopedic surgical and rehabilitative care to children up to age 18 at no cost, regardless of parents' ability to pay.

Marsland, a former Honolulu prosecutor, died in 2007. He was a Punahou graduate and World War II veteran.

"Shriners Hospital does amazing things for children of all ages," said Pauline Grigg, a lifelong friend and partner to Marsland. "The Marsland family was very involved with Shriners, and we truly see the benefit their services provide. We are delighted that we can make a contribution to such a wonderful institution."

Construction is ahead of schedule, and the new hospital is expected to open next May.