Pavel Grigoryevich von Derwiz, possessing significant wealth, was known for his extensive philanthropy in both public and private spheres. In 1872, he appealed to the Moscow Governor-General V.A. Dolgorukov for permission to build a children's clinical hospital in memory of his older children who had died in Russia. By that time, he had lost two sons: Vladimir (1854, 1855) and Andrei (1868, 1869). In his letter to the governor-general, Derwiz noted: "In Moscow, I spent the best years of my public activity. Therefore, it is here, and exclusively through the creation of an exemplary Children's Hospital, that I would like to immortalize the memory of all my older children whom I lost in Russia. For this noble cause, I allocate a capital of four hundred thousand." He also put forward three conditions: the hospital should bear the name of St. Vladimir, be built and maintained according to the model of the Prince Oldenburg Hospital in St. Petersburg, and it should permanently reserve 100 free places for orphans and children from poor families.

Thanks to donations and the funds provided by Derwiz, in 1876, under the leadership of the Moscow Mayor Prince A.A. Shcherbatov, the Vladimir Children's Hospital was established in Moscow, named after his eldest son. Before the revolution, the Moscow Hospital of St. Vladimir was recognized as exemplary at the Paris and All-Russian exhibitions. It received special recognition and a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Brussels as the best children's hospital in Europe. During the Soviet era, it was known as the Rousakov Children's Hospital.